*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a personal finance story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
COMMENTARY | I can remember the first time gasoline went over $4 per gallon and the panic it caused. Though short lived, that rise meant a big difference in the lives of every American. But now, according to a Forbes story, many experts are calling for gasoline prices to hit $6 per gallon in the near future. This is actually not due to oil being scarce but between world turmoil with oil producing countries and selling our own surpluses to countries overseas for profit, prices are likely to continue their climb. I am never in favor of paying more at the pumps and I am now preparing for a fuel cost increase as well as many other price increases that are almost sure to come.
Higher Gas Means Higher Everything
Gasoline at $6 per gallon will make a lot of other products that my family consumes go way up in price as well. Food will be the first thing to go up as all those trucks that handle the logistics of getting food and other products to the stores will have no choice but to charge more for their services, which in turn will almost force the stores to raise their prices. So, I am fully expecting my food budget to be thrown all out of sorts.
Travel will also be greatly affected by higher gasoline prices. This hurts my family as part of our greatest joy is getting out of town for a weekend whenever possible. With higher gasoline prices, the frequency of my family's travel will be far less.
Emergency Gasoline Fund
As silly as it sounds, I have opened an emergency gasoline fund. It's simply a savings account that I have been putting $5 to $10 in each week so I can be fully prepared for the high gas prices that might come. While the money isn't much it will help a little and will at least offset some of the high gasoline costs should my budget not allow for it. After all, my family can cut back on driving, but we can't stop altogether.
Tightening the Budget
With everything from food and everyday products likely to climb right along with the price of gasoline I have tightened my family's budget. While we are pretty good at sticking to our current budget, with the threat of higher prices on the horizon, we have no choice but to rein in all frivolous spending and try to save as much as possible. While my efforts might all be for naught, I'd rather be safe than sorry.
179 comments