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Topic starter
11/06/2022 8:48 pm
SAVE A LITTLE? OR NOT!
It's no secret that rising gas prices are the talk over morning coffee every day. Everyone has an opinion and complaint. Not to mention the constant rhetoric of the rearranging of their finances to put gas in their cars.
I do find it interesting that settling on "priorities" for some people seem to be overlooked. I say this because, there is no argument that WE NEED GAS, so whether we like it or not, whatever the cost of gas is, we have to pay it. Not saying we can't be unhappy about it and/or complain about it, but the fact is, we NEED gas.
However, we see many people spending money on things that also have increased in price, that they DON'T NEED and they somehow continue to buy them without the same complaints vented towards the rising gas prices. We've touched on one such item previously, that being a carton of Cigarettes, which is currently well over $100 a carton, and this folks is NOT a need, it's a WANT! And hold on, I'm not discounting the addiction factor here, I'm only saying that a person can do without Cigarettes, but they CAN'T do without Gas.
And let's be honest, there are many other "Wants vs. Needs" that could be tossed in to the mix here. It comes down to priorities. There is the seemingly constant waste of Gas that somehow people fail to realize that they have control of. Example being, letting your car run in the driveway or a parking lot while you are just sitting in it. That wastes Gas folks! And what about people going through "Drive-Thru" lanes at fast-food places, car washes, and this really big one that I witnessed yesterday while visiting COSTCO.
Gas at COSTCO is $4.48 a gallon, while at most stations around the area it is at $4.79, a .31 cent difference per gallon. So logic would say, if you can get it at COSTCO, that would be $3.10 cents savings on 10 gallons of gas. BUT wait, if you are sitting in the lines like I'm sharing in these photos (below) at COSTCO with your car running for a half hour to finally get to the pump, are you really saving?
This particular COSTCO has EIGHT gas lines and there was a constant parade of cars lining up, with a "live" person directing cars as they come in to the various lines. While my wife was in COSTCO shopping, I watched from my car in the parking lot...and yes, my car was NOT running...seeing first hand the consistently growing line of cars to get Gas, and noting that it was taking approximately a half hour in line, with their cars running, before finally getting their turn at the pump.
I guess one could assume that some or most of these folks have decided that a half hour of their time is worth saving $3.10 and perhaps bragging rights that they got Gas cheaper than their neighbor or co-worker. Maybe that's important to them. To me though, they waisted both Gas and Time for this effort. As the old saying goes, "To each their own".
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota
11/06/2022 9:36 pm
Excellent point made George.
12/06/2022 11:13 am
Cigarettes are $100 a carton?? Wow, I quit smoking in the mid 70's when the price hit 50 cents a pack.
David Vandermeer
Corinth, Texas
Topic starter
12/06/2022 1:38 pm
Cigarettes are $100 a carton?? Wow, I quit smoking in the mid 70's when the price hit 50 cents a pack.
Yes they are over $100 a carton. I've NEVER smoked, as I always felt it was just like "burning" money every time they lit up. Glad to hear you quit David, possibly the reason you are still with us today.
George Schire
Oakdale, Minnesota