STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

Is anyone else scared...

kenzie · Chanel

Yep, I agree. It's going to have a definite affect on the economy b/c people will be spending more of their disposable incomes on gas. I never had to budget to buy gas, but right now I'm spending more on gas per month than I am on rent (??!!). And of course, there will probably be massive job loss (again) b/c of company cutbacks from a declining economic situation.

Luv2Shop · Kate Spade

I agree. I thank God that I recently got a new job 1.5 miles away from where I will be living instead of my usual 40 miles each way!!!!! Yes, I am driving an hour and a half EACH WAY to and from work everyday and I knew it had to stop. I am so blessed that I start next tuesday and will have to get gas maybe twice a month as opposed to twice a week.

The only advice I really have is for couples who each have a car. Think about trading if you need to. I have a small compact car that gets good gas mileage and my husband has a gas guzzling truck. We are going to trade for work so he can take my car and use less gas. Also I am really going to try to not use air conditioning and just enjoy the new arrival of fall. Good luck to all of you with these astronomical prices! Any other suggestions would be great!

NCshopper · Hermes

No kidding! This is getting to be ridiculous!!! I don't stay up at night worrying about it, but I think there is cause for some concern here.

I haven't seen the prices of produce and groceries and other merchandise go up yet, but how can it not? I just don't really understand how the economy can still function well if we're all spending our money on gas and all of our other products are going to go up in cost too.

The scary thing to me is that there's nothing we can do about it. I mean, we all still need to get to work and buy food and whatnot. If we can't all go to the movies and buy new clothes and do projects around the house and go on vacations, then there's going to be a real problem with our economy. Ugh. Depressing. I hope something changes soon.

Farrah · Marc Jacobs

I know it is getting really scary. Normally we take my bf's BMW everywhere because it is fabulous and we look good in it (hee-hee), but because he HAS to fill it up with premium gas we have started driving my Jetta everywhere now. Not that there is anything wrong with my Jetta, but if you had your pick we all know which one we'd choose. Anyway, we don't run the air unless we absolutely HAVE to and I used to put mid grade in my car, but I have had to drop down to regular because I just can't afford any extra money in my tank.

Here is some even scarier information: the industry analyst that predicted last year at this time that the prices would be where they are right now is predicting that next year at this time it will be closer to $5 a gallon:(.

Karina · Chanel

well on sunday i filled my tank up @ $2.49 a gal for regular, and i just passed by that same gas station yesterday, tuesday, and it was $2.75 a gal for regular - so i would say that is definitely cause for concern!!

JMR · Dooney & Bourke

yes, the gas prices are hard to live with. MOre than our cars though - we are terribly worried about our home heating bills. We estimate they will run $500-$600 a month this year for heat and electric.

Last year they were about $300-$400 a month, we were barely home so during the day we turned it down to 60 - at night we turned it up to 62-64. Now I am going to be home, and with a baby so I can't keep it so cold. PLUS we are living on one income now...it's scary!!!

kenzie · Chanel

JMR wrote:

yes, the gas prices are hard to live with. MOre than our cars though - we are terribly worried about our home heating bills. We estimate they will run $500-$600 a month this year for heat and electric. Last year they were about $300-$400 a month, we were barely home so during the day we turned it down to 60 - at night we turned it up to 62-64. Now I am going to be home, and with a baby so I can't keep it so cold. PLUS we are living on one income now...it's scary!!!

Yeah, gas and oil heat this winter are supposed to be ridiculously expensive. My mom and I were talking about this yesterday and she was saying about how she just got a nice raise, but cost of living prices are eating right into it and then some. How are people ever supposed to get ahead when prices are skyrocketing overnight.

Farrah, $5 a gallon! OMG!! They better start upgrading the mass transportation systems!

-- Edited by NylaBelle at 11:21, 2005-08-31

laken1 · Hermes

It's very scary. I don't work outside the home & was looking for a part time job, but at this point unless it is around the corner from my house I'm not sure that it will be better for me moneywise. I am also planning my errands all in one day & in a path that is smart (where usually I just hop in the car & go daily).

My husband is also looking into a small motorcycle. 6 guys at work have done this so they can park their cars & they get 60-70 miles to the gallon. It's very sad & scary. The fact that profits at the oil companies are at record highs also pisses me off (35% - 50% increase in profits than the same time last year). Go figure.

laken1 · Hermes

I also got this email yesterday - I don't know how I feel about things like this but it's worth a shot...

I hear we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer. Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action

Phillip Hollsworth, offered this good idea:

This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!

The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.

Please read it and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.75 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50-$1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace.... not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas!

And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year, DON"T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do!! Now, don't whimp (sic) out on me at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to about thirty people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300).. and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers!

If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!! Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people and DON"T purchase ANY gasoline from EXXON and MOBIL. That's all.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this email out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days!!! I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you! Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on.

PLEASE HOLD OUT UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $1.30 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK

kenzie · Chanel

laken1, I can see the logic behind this e-mail, but I don't know how viable it is. Where I'm moving to (if I end up moving, which I'll probably have to so I don't have to commute a long distance to work from mom's house and eat up more gas) only has Exxon's and Mobils. The next closest station is Wawa, but I would have to drive out of my way (and eat up more gas) to go there. Right now, I go to Wawa, but I'm not going to drive 30 minutes to get it. So, that's the problem with this idea, that many areas are monopolized by asshole Exxon/Mobil.

Kel · Coach

It is very scary. Lately I have just cut down on my driving and I only put in like $25.00 a week in my car. It is crazy, i just don't see why it keeps going up. I agree with whoever it was that said that they condition us to pay a certain price and then hike it up so we think that the previous price wasen't so bad. I wish I could take mass transportation but in my area ( I don't live in a city) it is hard to b/c of all the schedules and so forth. I also wish I could not use my AC but it is freakin hot ( I live in FL) and it won't get better until like Nov. So for now I just drive less and try to fill up my tank at Wal-Mart where the gas is cheaper.

Also i feel bad for the small-business owner because gas can really affect them. That is a big expense, and I bet that many businesses are going to take a big hurting.

laken1 · Hermes

NylaBelle wrote:

laken1, I can see the logic behind this e-mail, but I don't know how viable it is. Where I'm moving to (if I end up moving, which I'll probably have to so I don't have to commute a long distance to work from mom's house and eat up more gas) only has Exxon's and Mobils. The next closest station is Wawa, but I would have to drive out of my way (and eat up more gas) to go there. Right now, I go to Wawa, but I'm not going to drive 30 minutes to get it. So, that's the problem with this idea, that many areas are monopolized by asshole Exxon/Mobil.

Oh, I understand, figured it wouldn't hurt to throw it out there!

Now with oil production being down in the Gulf - we are truly screwed. When we go into countries with oil supplies to defend them, why in the world don't we make a deal that we get discounted oil prices?? HELLO!!!!!!

Irene · Dooney & Bourke

I am not worried at all. If we all started buying hybrid cars, then gas would be cheaper. I plan on buying one as soon as Saturn comes out with one. I mean, gas is expensive, but I think that there are ways to get around it. Bike or walk short distances rather than drive. Many people don't NEED cars, such as most people who live and work in NYC (including me). Those of us who don't have to drive won't when prices reach their own personal ceiling.

For those who have to drive, get more economical and efficient cars. That's the only answer I have.

For those who has gas heat, I have no other answers except watch your consumption.

-- Edited by Irene at 12:11, 2005-08-31

kenzie · Chanel

Irene wrote:

I am not worried at all. If we all started buying hybrid cars, then gas would be cheaper. I plan on buying one as soon as Saturn comes out with one. I mean, gas is expensive, but I think that there are ways to get around it. Bike or walk short distances rather than drive. Many people don't NEED cars, such as most people who live and work in NYC (including me). Those of us who don't have to drive won't when prices reach their own personal ceiling. For those who have to drive, get more economical and efficient cars. That's the only answer I have. For those who has gas heat, I have no other answers except watch your consumption.-- Edited by Irene at 12:11, 2005-08-31

I would love to have a hybrid car and you certainly won't catch me buying an SUV, but buying a new car isn't an option right now. Fortunately, I don't have a gas guzzler, though. I absolutely need a car. I live in sprawling suburbia with highways and 6-8 lane roads all over the place. Not only is biking not an option, it's not safe!

Sometimes I wish I still lived in the city. I would park my car for weeks at a time and not have to use it. It was great!

FashionPrincess · Hermes

What is craziest is that I remember in 1997/98 when I was going to college, gas prices were like 99 cents a gallon!!! That wasn't all that long ago!!!

kenzie · Chanel

FashionPrincess wrote:

What is craziest is that I remember in 1997/98 when I was going to college, gas prices were like 99 cents a gallon!!! That wasn't all that long ago!!!

OMG! Yes! It was my sophomore year of college and I could fill my tank for $7 (and I have the same car now as I did then and now I'm paying $25-30 to fill it up.

-- Edited by NylaBelle at 12:19, 2005-08-31

Irene · Dooney & Bourke

NylaBelle wrote:

I would love to have a hybrid car and you certainly won't catch me buying an SUV, but buying a new car isn't an option right now. Fortunately, I don't have a gas guzzler, though. I absolutely need a car. I live in sprawling suburbia with highways and 6-8 lane roads all over the place. Not only is biking not an option, it's not safe! Sometimes I wish I still lived in the city. I would park my car for weeks at a time and not have to use it. It was great!

Yeah, I usually only drive my car on the weekends so that's probably why I am not so strung up on gas prices. But my car also gets 32-33mpg. I just filled up my tank in Massachussets last weekend and am going to get about 400-410 miles on the tank. That's the main reason I bought that car was because of the good gas mileage.

I really don't know if there is anything we can do about the prices though. But I would think that if there is less demand for gas, then the prices would drop (I am no economics major, but I think that's how that works). I know people who drive 5 blocks to the supermarket. If they just grabbed a shopping cart and walked, they would save in the long run I bet.

jj · Kate Spade

This is actually a subject I am very passionate about (I worked for several years in an environment-related field). I am interested to see if people start trading in their gas-guzzling SUVs for more efficient, environment-friendly cars. It really angers me that people who drive these behemoths complain about rising prices. This actually happened to me while a friend was filling up her Yukon Denali.

I know many things are out of our control - many cities don't have mass transit, if you get a job 40 miles away, you can't just pick up and move closer because it's not a cost-effective solution either. I just hope the pendulum swings back to more energy-efficient vehicles and that people realize their choices has consequences outside their own insular worlds.

Ok, I am getting off my soapbox now

small fry · Chanel

yes this is very scary, iam on a fixed income and my husband gets a disabilty check once a month and than what i make we are just making now we spend so much on gas, and we both have trucks, although he has a smaller one and i take that one alot even with out the a/c working. This is very depressing , so i try not to think @ it .