How is your family coping with the higher gas prices? Seems to me like it is rising over night. We are severely cutting our budget just to keep going. And we are walking more places. There are 2 shopping centers close by that we can walk too..and both have movie theaters. I have also begun stockpiling dry goods in my pantry. Beans, rice, pasta, etc. I heard this morning it may be as high as 7.00 a gallon by summer. Anyhow, we will also be biking a lot. I am just amazed at how little my grocery dollar buys these days.

It is awful Renee.  I drive the car and not the truck now.  We don't drive the truck any more than we have to.  Gas is just too high.  We are making adjustments also.  This stimulus package is nice, but it will only put a band-aid on the wound.  I am praying for our country.

Hey Renee!!!! I am so glad you posted this topic as I was wondering too!  For us we all have BIKES!!! Even the little one has a bike and a booster seat for my bike. We also have officially declined all future field trips and get-a-ways and plan on working more in the yard and visiting the neighborhood and local parks for our fun. My DH is using his grandmothers Toyota (she is in a nursing home) in leui of our station wagon which sucks the gas like milk to an infant. I've got my SUV parked in the garage and hope it can stay there much of the time.  I also try to keep it full so going to the pump is not so devastating at one fill-up.

You're right - prices are going up overnight, sometimes during the day, too!!!  I'm just not sure how we are all going to handle $7 a gallon, but as it's going, it looks like we'll get there.  Groceries are outrageous, too.  I've been checking the sales, and trying to be a savvy shopper, but it's hard.  I feel for folks who have long work commutes..fortunately, my round trip to work is about 12 miles.  I have a VW convertible, but it doesn't get great gas mileage.  I try to combine all the trips that I can.

My husband works in Madison (60 miles from home) and he drives a Camry Hybrid that gets around 40+ mpg. My employer has gone to a 4 day work week, so that helps as I have a 30 mile commute each way. Since it is just the 2 of us at home, I have been trying to break the habit of "stock piling" groceries like I did when the kids were still home...a VERY hard habit to break.  We are just trying to pinch pennies here and there to try & keep up. Not much choice...we have to have the gas!!

Leo has really been thinking about this more than I have. He's pretty much parked his big old Ford and sold his other truck and is driving the motorcycle unless it rains. I have my Hyundai SUV (which gets about 25 mpg in town) but as soon as my house sells we plan to invest in a Prius Hybrid. The cost is expensive upfront but we believe the gas prices will keep rising and so it should pay for itself. You can get like 45 mpg in town and about 40 on the road. We've already tried one out and love it.

We are still planning a trip to S.C. in September but once we get there we will be on the motorcycle the whole time. Leo is very thrifty to put it politely and he can pinch those pennies so the whole trip may even be cancelled if gas is still going up.

Fortunately for us, we work opposite hours so we rarely cook at home. I eat salads at night and he can eat at the hospital for little of nothing. I have even gone there to eat with him on occasion. We don't have to buy groceries on a weekly basis so that helps. We have a dollar store within walking distance and I do most of our shopping there. If I'm smart I stop there on my way home and don't have to make an extra trip. When we do go out to eat, we always share a meal and that helps!!

This was a good post. Thanks for getting it going. I'm anxious to see what others are doing.

DebbieDoo

Im gonna go buy a moped...  It might take me awhile to get to bama next time...

we've been severely cutting everything back-i only drive my SUV when i HAVE to (taking DD back & forth to school and to dance class once a week, during which time i do my shopping).  DH has a 1.5 hour commute back & forth to work and just took a $1.00/hr. pay cut, so those are killing us.  when i go to the store i only buy what we absolutely need and i scour the newspaper each wednesday for deals on fruits and veggies.  we buy our milk at aldi ($1.99/gallon right now and $2.99 regularly) and anything else we need that they have on sale.  unfortunately we're so far out in the country we can't walk or bike anywhere-not only is it dangerous b/c most of the roads are barely 2 lanes, it would take forever.  i talked to a good friend of mine in austin, texas, day before yesterday and it's just her and her DH-they spent $78+ on groceries last week and just got the essentials!  if something doesn't give soon, we won't be able to afford for DH to drive back & forth to work. Hugs, Donya

We are also fortunate to have a neighborhood pool..I volunteer my time and get our membership for half price. The good thing is it is walking distance or biking distance for the kids. Keaton will probably give up his restaraunt job ( too far to drive) to guard all summer. Ken is also looking into getting a motorcycle for his daily commute to Athens. Another thing I am doing...giving up my nails. 60.00 a month is too much to pay now and would put groceries on the table. I am also doing more shopping in thrift stores for my clothes..you can find really good deals sometimes. We are also doing one trip runs..D has to get his allergy shots every week so we just make one trip if I have an appointment or need groceries. We do have a trip planned for early June..we are going to Florida. Our hotel is being paid for by my husbands company..Thank Goodness. We will take our cooler and probably eat out only 1 time a day. Most days we will probably just hang on the beach. I have to stockpile my groceries..my boys can put away a lot. I shop Aldi in Decatur about every 2 weeks. Fill my freezer for about 100 bucks. They are building a dollar general right at the end of our street..so we can walk their too when it opens.

Renee,

What is Aldi? Is that a Sam's or Costco??

DebbieDoo