What the heck is going on with gas prices lately? Last week when I bought gas it was $3.16/gallon. This past Monday when I bought some, I paid $3.28/gallon. Today on my way to work I see 3 different stations with gas ranging between $3.46 and $3.48. Seems a bit ridiculous to have it raise from 3.16 to 3.48 in less than 14 days. Rant over...
even though, from what i read, they produce less than 3% of the world's oil.
not to go political, but i hate when they do this. anything going on in the world is an excuse for these people to raise oil prices. it's the lamest thing in the world. seriously you could go on twitter or on cnn and find something horrible that happened and just raise the price of oil up a few bucks a barrel.
Quote: not to go political, but i hate when they do this. anything going on in the world is an excuse for these people to raise oil prices.
It's not "people raising prices" ... it's speculators in the commodities markets freaking out and buying a ton of oil, and thus jacking up the overall price for everything. The same thing happens with other commodities too ... if there's an outbreak of madcow, then the price of beef goes way up. Fortunatly, we don't fill our cars up with porterhouse.
Quote: not to go political, but i hate when they do this. anything going on in the world is an excuse for these people to raise oil prices.
It's not "people raising prices" ... it's speculators in the commodities markets freaking out and buying a ton of oil, and thus jacking up the overall price for everything. .
so in other words, it's these "people raising prices"?
It's the same human phenomenon that leads everybody to run out and buy bread and milk because you might get storm that makes getting out difficult for a day or two... because you know, without bread and milk for 2 days, certainly we would all die.
So you get reports of unrest in the middle east, reports of Gedhafi going to light his wells on fire, reports of Iran running ships through a canal.. and panic ensues..
Then on our end we have a President who won't lift a moratorium on drilling in the gulf which might alleviate the problem ever so slightly.. but he won't, even though a judge told him he had to...
Quote: Then on our end we have a President who won't lift a moratorium on drilling in the gulf which might alleviate the problem ever so slightly.. but he won't, even though a judge told him he had to...
TWICE
I thought I was wrong once....but I was mistaken...
What's the use of wearing your lucky rocketship underpants if nobody wants to see them????
don't know if it's ever been posted or not, but i use gasbuddy.com, type in your zip and it'll give you updated gas prices at your nearby gas stations, you'll be able to get best price. they have an app for iphones too.
Aside from a select few, most stations tend to be within .05 of each other, and I'm not making any special arrangements to save less than a buck on a tank of gas.
My wife will make a left turn across 4 lanes of traffic on a busy street to save .01
The last time she tried to do that, I pulled a dollar out of my pocket threw it in her lap and said "just drive and keep the extra 80 cents" as w sat there burning through the .01/gal she would save trying to get across the street.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
Quote: I never understood the gasbuddy.com concept.
Aside from a select few, most stations tend to be within .05 of each other, and I'm not making any special arrangements to save less than a buck on a tank of gas.
But that comes out to saving $3-$4 a month!
Joe Thomas made Justin Timberlake change his name. He didn't want wusses to have the same initials...
i've seen some pretty steep differences by me, 15-20 cents. i won't go out of my way or anything but i usually pass a bunch of stations and it's nice to know which one is offering the best deal.
i really wanna try and get into the habit of filling up once a week and not when my car is on E. i know a lot of people who say they go on sunday nights, it seems to give you the best deals, and come monday you're ready to go for the work week.
Quote: i've seen some pretty steep differences by me, 15-20 cents. i won't go out of my way or anything but i usually pass a bunch of stations and it's nice to know which one is offering the best deal.
i really wanna try and get into the habit of filling up once a week and not when my car is on E. i know a lot of people who say they go on sunday nights, it seems to give you the best deals, and come monday you're ready to go for the work week.
Yes there are stations here that are 10-15 cents higher, but they are ALWAYS that way, so I just avoid them.
It's not like I don't pass 15-20 gas stations on my way home, so it's easy to see which ones are always within a nickel of each other, and I prefer certain stations over others for a variety of reasons(proximity to my travels, cleanliness of the store should I go in, neighborhood, etc).
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
just saved 19¢ per gallon using gas buddy. I'm not saying drive 20 miles to save .01 but on way home knew what stations I was going to pass and saved 19¢
The Views Expressed By Me Are Not Necessarily The Views That You Will Agree With, I'm In My Own Little World But They Know Me Here.
We use the Kroger card at their gas pump.....we usually get 20-30 cents per gallon off there depending on how much we've spent on groceries. The price per gallon is usually within a cent or two of the other two stations near my house.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
I know some people that will drive 12 or so miles to a different town just to save 2-5 cents per gallon. They waste a gallon of gas ($3 +) in order to get, say, 15 gallons of gas - saving at most 75 cents, while wasting $3 + to do it.
I get my gas at marathon. I have a Marathon card - that's 5% savings per gallon. At $3 per gallon, that's knocking 15 cents off per gallon.
Just on my work vehicle I put in 40 to 55 gallons a week.
Quote: are all those gas station cards just credit cards or are they just membership type cards? i never really looked into getting one of them.
Dunno for sure - mine is a Marathon Mastercard. I could, if I wanted, use it anywhere Mastercard is accepted. (the savings though, at non marathon stations, is only 1%).
I use it strictly for gas. (once in a while for work supplies - not often though).
I don't use the cards, because I can usually find much better prices on groceries not shopping at stores tht offer a card.
Giant Eagle is the big one around here. I can generally beat even their advertised priced by shopping at Marc,s, IGA, or Sparkle. It makes little sense to me to add to my grocery bill just to deduct from my gas bill. (and maybe not as much either)
I know a lot of people who swear by shopping at Giant Eagle and such ..... and when I ask the why they always mention the card. They always also mention the specials ..... but almost everyone I know who shops there also buys stuff that is not on special, and it is almost always 1.25 to 1.5 times more than at other stores.
Of course, you couldn't pay me to shop at Giant Eagle anyway given that the unions picket other area stores, trying to put them out of business, I told one of the picketers that I would not shop at Giant Eagle, or any unions store as long as they tried to put a local company out of business ...... and he said "Good, we don't want your ^$(*&%%'in business anyway". I was stunned, because I really wasn't rude to the guy, and I got swore at as a result.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: was wondering same thing as I don't like to charge gas
I don't like to charge anything, but I need gas for my job. If getting a credit card saves me 5% per gallon - I'm doing it. The alternative is paying cash for the pump price. I'll save my cash for the end of the month card bill.
I'm still wondering why nobody is asking the President what he is going to do about gas prices. Heck everybody assumed that Bush could influence gas prices just by calling some of his buddys, surely this President can do SOMETHING...
I charge damn near everything I can, and pay the bill off monthly.
I get 1% cash back from Discover .... so I put everything I can on there.
I bought my gas at BP the last 5 fillups ...... and put exactly 8 gallons in each time, because they had a promotion going on 5 (8 gallon) "fill ups" that gets me a $10 BP card.
So ..... my gas cost approximately $125 for 40 gallons. I got 1% back, which is $1.20, plus a $10 gift card. That's almost 10% off in total rebates. I rather like that.
I try to watch for promotions like that.
The Marathon one is also good, and there are a few other stations that offer similar discounts, but I don't want that many different cards in my wallet. I keep 2 credit cards (which I try to keep paid off monthly) and my debit card, and that's enough.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: I don't use the cards, because I can usually find much better prices on groceries not shopping at stores tht offer a card.
Giant Eagle is the big one around here. I can generally beat even their advertised priced by shopping at Marc,s, IGA, or Sparkle. It makes little sense to me to add to my grocery bill just to deduct from my gas bill. (and maybe not as much either)
I know a lot of people who swear by shopping at Giant Eagle and such ..... and when I ask the why they always mention the card. They always also mention the specials ..... but almost everyone I know who shops there also buys stuff that is not on special, and it is almost always 1.25 to 1.5 times more than at other stores.
Of course, you couldn't pay me to shop at Giant Eagle anyway given that the unions picket other area stores, trying to put them out of business, I told one of the picketers that I would not shop at Giant Eagle, or any unions store as long as they tried to put a local company out of business ...... and he said "Good, we don't want your ^$(*&%%'in business anyway". I was stunned, because I really wasn't rude to the guy, and I got swore at as a result.
But if you're willing to change your menu around a bit and gear it to what's on sale, you can save quite a bit of money at Kroger....much more than I could at IGA. And with the the gas savings added in, it's a no brainer for me. We don't have the union issues here.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
Quote: I'm still wondering why nobody is asking the President what he is going to do about gas prices. Heck everybody assumed that Bush could influence gas prices just by calling some of his buddys, surely this President can do SOMETHING...
Would this be the time to show the video of the young lady that said, after O got elected "now I won't have to worry about gas prices, or my rent - you know, if I help him, he'll help me."
Quote: I'm still wondering why nobody is asking the President what he is going to do about gas prices. Heck everybody assumed that Bush could influence gas prices just by calling some of his buddys, surely this President can do SOMETHING...
OR, would this be a good time to say "Presidents don't control gas prices."
Nah - Bush took heat for his inability to "cure" the supply and demand, may as well let O see what it's like.
I totally agree with the concept. It's just not easy to always pay that extra bill at the end of month. when Kroger first came out with Kroger plus card I told the wife to buy all the groceries with credit card and we could earn an extra percent using the credit card. can't remember how much. at the end of month. bill came I was like. what the crap is this. end of that idea
The Views Expressed By Me Are Not Necessarily The Views That You Will Agree With, I'm In My Own Little World But They Know Me Here.
Regardless of which system you use you have to be disciplined.. and I'm not calling anybody undisciplined here, just stating that you need a system that works for you, something that YOU are comfortable keeping track of... the wife and I have a Target debit card.. we save 5% on everything we buy at Target when we use it but the card functions exactly like a debit card so we just have to record it as a normal debit transaction but we are saving each and every time we use it... which is A LOT!!!! (shame they don't sell gas)
I use Sheetz about 99.9% of the time and the Sheetz at 80 and Salt Springs is usually the lowest around... often at least a dime lower than 224, Mahoning Avenue or 46 in Howland.
I've always thought that Sheetz in particular was about the lowest of anything around these parts. Plus with the "Sheetz Card", which isn't a credit card, you save .03 per gallon. Doesn't seem like much but it helps.
"If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college" GO ROCKETS
Quote: I don't use the cards, because I can usually find much better prices on groceries not shopping at stores tht offer a card.
Giant Eagle is the big one around here. I can generally beat even their advertised priced by shopping at Marc,s, IGA, or Sparkle. It makes little sense to me to add to my grocery bill just to deduct from my gas bill. (and maybe not as much either)
I know a lot of people who swear by shopping at Giant Eagle and such ..... and when I ask the why they always mention the card. They always also mention the specials ..... but almost everyone I know who shops there also buys stuff that is not on special, and it is almost always 1.25 to 1.5 times more than at other stores.
Of course, you couldn't pay me to shop at Giant Eagle anyway given that the unions picket other area stores, trying to put them out of business, I told one of the picketers that I would not shop at Giant Eagle, or any unions store as long as they tried to put a local company out of business ...... and he said "Good, we don't want your ^$(*&%%'in business anyway". I was stunned, because I really wasn't rude to the guy, and I got swore at as a result.
Yes Giant Eagle, across the board, has higher grocery prices. It is definitely NOT worth it to just go there to get groceries and achieve the gas discount,....overall not a positive gain, as you indicated. If I happen to be there and need bananas, I get 'em.
HOWEVER, we don't buy just groceries there. We don't do anything anymore without first seeing if they sell the gift card for that particular luxury. Subway, Home Depot, Best Buy, Michael's, Mitchell's Steakhouse,...and you also have to be careful -- we spent $300 at Marcella's three weeks ago at the neighbors birthday party NOT KNOWING they accept Mitchell's cards. Movie theatres, KMart, Staples, Sears, Applebees, Ruby Tuesday, Dick's Sporting Goods,....etc. etc.
You can build up a lot of gas points watching where you go and what you want to do without even buying groceries there,....it is worth it. I know in Youngstown it is only .10 off for every $50 spent, but in Columbus it is .20. I probably saved a at least 40% of my annual gasoline bill for the year doing this.
I save the points until they equal or exceed the current price and get all 30 gallons at once. It is a helluva awesome feeling to drive away from the pump with the readout saying 0.00.
Filled up tonight at $3.39/gallon, lucky wife has a small tank. I've got a speedy rewards card and as I was just about done I looked up and saw the sign 2 sodas for $2.00 and 200 speedy points so I walk in buy the sodas and the machine kicks out two coupons one for a free drink and another for a $25 gas card. The clerk had to call a manager over cause he had never seen that happen before. Boy those sodas tasted nice.
Quote: I hear ya',....it was as low as 2.98 last week at the Speedway, now it's 3.29.
Don't have to buy beer, cheese, or steak -- but there are things you HAVE to buy, and paying for gas is the only way to get them. It's a rip.
It was 2.95 at the Circle K down the street from my job about a week and a half ago and I had a half a tank left, but I promptly filled it back up. Been waiting to fill up again but it just seems to keep going higher and higher. What sucks is, inevitably I'm going to just have to pay whatever they say I do as I have no other realistic option to get to work and school.
"All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine." - Charles Barkley
Yep. That's where the picketers said they worked at a different time when I asked them where I could find a union store to shop.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: I'm still wondering why nobody is asking the President what he is going to do about gas prices. Heck everybody assumed that Bush could influence gas prices just by calling some of his buddys, surely this President can do SOMETHING...
It was not just the American people blaming Bush...
OPEC Faults U.S. As Oil Hits New HighCartel Blames U.S. Economic "Mismanagement," Not Lack Of Supply, For Pushing Crude Past $104 A Barrel
VIENNA, Austria, March 5, 2008
(CBS/AP) OPEC on Wednesday accused the U.S. of economic "mismanagement" it said is pushing oil prices to new record highs, rebuffing calls to boost output and laying the blame at the feet of the Bush administration.
Oil prices surged past $104 a barrel for the first time after the OPEC announcement and the release of a U.S. government report showing a surprise drop in crude oil stockpiles.
The 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would maintain current production levels because crude supplies are plentiful and demand is expected to weaken in the second quarter.
OPEC President Chakib Khelil told reporters the global market is being affected by what he called "the mismanagement of the U.S. economy," and that America's problems were a key factor in the cartel's decision to hold off on any action.
"If the prices are high, definitely they are not due to a lack of crude. They are due to what's happening in the U.S.," Khelil said. "There is sufficient supply. There's plenty of oil there."
Khelil's comments came one day after President George Bush lashed out at the organization, warning Tuesday: "I think it's a mistake to have your biggest customers' economies slowing down as a result of higher energy prices."
White House spokesman Dana Perino said Wednesday that Mr. Bush was "disappointed" OPEC didn't do more to rein in prices, which some say are pushing the U.S. economy into recession.
This was back in March 2008 when all of a sudden, a U.S. government report materializes showing a "surprise drop" in crude oil stockpiles.
Wow, how did that happen?...what happened to the oil that was supposed to be in the stockpile?
Hey, I don't know and don't pretend to be someone who understands the many ways the oil markets can be manipulated....BUT...if all it took was a "report" showing a sudden drop in US stockpiles, it would not be hard to "manufacture" such a report, would it?
Or if we needed an actual shortage, that could be managed too, by simply diverting more oil into the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
I do find it amusing that RWers complain about the "free market" oil prices/gas prices...this what RWers want.
What is interesting, next quarter or two from now, oil companies will report record profits...wait and see.
Some time ago, I looked up the history of the price of gas and it seems that along about the fall in even years, the price of gas seemed to be dropping...I will see if I can find that chart.
as w sat there burning through the .01/gal she would save trying to get across the street. 
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](http://i.imgur.com/FUKyw.png)
