Save and Conserve

it's always good to step back and remind yourself that gas prices only seem to be high, mainly because the price of gas has been so low for so long (approximately 20 years now). when i first started driving in 1990, i could get a gallon of unleaded for about a dollar! filling up my mom's honda civic would only cost around 10 bucks back then. that was my introduction to gas prices.

that is just ridiculously cheap. consider there are 16 cups in a gallon. back in 1990, a cup of unleaded gas cost about 6 cents. today, with gas prices at my local stations around $3.09 on average, a cup of gas still only costs about 19 cents. what does a medium cup of coffee run? at least $1.25 ...

it's good to get this kind of perspective on gas prices and on energy prices as a whole. i think it's the reason we have not yet to see any real demand destruction in america. the stuff is still remarkably cheap ... even though it seems remarkably expensive.

somewhere deep in the recesses of our collective subconscious we know this is still a bargain. so we keep buying and we're not ready to adjust lifestyle. gas prices will need to go much higher before the stuff becomes a net loss to your wallet.