Gas Prices

I'm usually not one for conspiracy theories. But I think something is going on with gas prices. If they keep going up I see the country coming to a stand still, or at least this family will be. We have already cut back on how often we go into town (since we live 10 miles out of town.) We use to go in about 1-2 a week. But now we have cut back to grocery shopping to once a month and since my husband works on base he will stop at the commissary on the way home for the inbetween shopping trip items. We go out to eat less. I don't visit and shop at my hobby stores as often. I am buying more items online since shipping is cheaper than the gas to run into town and buy the same item. We make one big trip when we have to go in and hit as many places as we can. It is a big planning event because we don't want to back track and waste more gas. We use to take the kids out every Saturday to the beach, parks, etc. but now we are going to go to the beach out on base during our monthly grocery trip and staying home the rest of the time and just going out less often. We had planned to make a bunch of day trips this summer since we weren't going on a big family vacation this year but that has been cancelled. Our gas budget use to cover gas for both cars and the scheduled oil changes but now the gas takes it all up and then some. I have to find money from other areas to come up with the money for the oil changes. Those months I hope the water and power bill are less than budgeted to help out.

I joke to my husband that if gas does go up to the $7 a gallon we have heard rumored that we can ride bikes to church since I use to ride one in a dress on my mission. We have a little trailer for the kids to ride in the back. It would be a very hot, sweaty, long ride. When I was growing up a man use to drive his mule team and wagon to church sometimes. Too bad we don't have the yard for some mules or horses. However, the price of feed for animals is going up to so maybe it wouldn't really help having an animal to ride.