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As you can see these are prices today including some just minutes ago. Seems like under $2.00 is plentiful from this source. It may help folks find a cheaper station so here it is. Average cost was $2.064. Gas Buddy is one of the many apps to help you find the lowest prices if you have flexibility.
You do not seem to get it is NOT gas that I am complaining about....I GET that gas has gone down!!!!! It is the cost of OTHER requirements in this neck of the woods that don't seem to be giving ANYONE here a break!!!!!
As this thread slowly but steadily turned into "what costs where" one, yes, here in PacNW prices did go up.
That being said, we shop at Winco, which is pretty much Pac coast equivalent of Aldi (oh, do we miss Aldi!!) and though petrol prices kept steadily going down (2.18 as of this morning) produce prices steadily went up. Simple example. Raw peanuts in bulk from bins went from 97 cents steady for quite a few years to $1.78 over the period of about a year. Coffey beans went up from $5.48 a lb to $7.48 a lb same time. Eggs pretty much doubled in price. Milk sort of stays around $3 a gallon but I can hardly call it milk. It's whatever labeled as milk. EVERYTHING went up. That's Winco. Safeway, QFC are easy 30 to 100% more on same produce. We shop very little at Costco or Sam's, but whatever we routinely buy there, mostly Perrier, went up about 2-3 bucks for same package.
Property values went up tugging along taxes. Looks like realtors are blowing another bubble.
Utilities go up geometrically. Natural gas prices are the most notorious ones, cost goes up every several months.
Insurances went up. Several hundred bucks.
The only things that appear to go down in prices are electronics and cheap clothes.
I'd say that essentials did go up drastically, as all this was no slow creep, it jumped up "becasue gas prices are high and delivery costs are high" but never went down after gas prices crashed.
OP, I'd follow what Mr Rogers said. Put your money into dirt. They don't make it anymore.
THANK YOU!!!! SOMEONE realizes what I am talking about!!! EVERYONE here seems to think since price of gas has gone down, EVERYONE is experiencing savings from it!!!! DUHHHHHHH!!!!! FUEL EFFICIENT, DO NOT DRIVE THAT MUCH....NOT A HUGE HELP FOR ME SINCE I DO NOT SAVE $20 PER FILL UP!!!!!!!!! Tried to rep ya, but gotta spread the love.....
You do not seem to get it is NOT gas that I am complaining about....I GET that gas has gone down!!!!! It is the cost of OTHER requirements in this neck of the woods that don't seem to be giving ANYONE here a break!!!!!
I get that, my point is that gasoline is a major part of the basket of goods that go into the regional CPI which in turn is part of the national CPI. Thus your regional CPI is tempered by the lower gas prices. It is a defined basket of goods which works to the disadvantage of seniors as health care cost for us tend to be higher than the population at large. So while our health care cost go up more than the norm our gasoline usage will also vary. For you it is more of the basket than your actual budget which is still based on the norm which includes working folks.
The chart in the above link shows how energy had a disproportionate impact on the CPI for the Southern Region. I get it that not everyone benefited equally from it but this isn't a personal CPI but a combination of regional ones. Just about all were lowered because of the awesome consumer benefit of lower gas prices.
THANK YOU!!!! SOMEONE realizes what I am talking about!!! EVERYONE here seems to think since price of gas has gone down, EVERYONE is experiencing savings from it!!!! DUHHHHHHH!!!!! FUEL EFFICIENT, DO NOT DRIVE THAT MUCH....NOT A HUGE HELP FOR ME SINCE I DO NOT SAVE $20 PER FILL UP!!!!!!!!! Tried to rep ya, but gotta spread the love.....
People know that but this isn't a personal benefit but a broad one that impacts not just SS but can also impact local pension COLA increases and other CPI triggered events. I think that like others I was mistaken in thinking this was a general discussion about Cost of Living Increases and Retirement savings. In some cases other seniors are able to spend less and perhaps actually save more or increase spending on something else because of lower gasoline costs. Yes we know not you but in the aggregate possibly. others.
Food prices have increased (and packages have gotten smaller) but food is not really significant in our budget.
Services, now...that's another matter. Just having a plumber come to the house costs $150.00. That buys an hour, but it's the same $150.00 even if he solves the issue in 30 minutes, and one extra minute = a quarter hour = $37.50.
People know that but this isn't a personal benefit but a broad one that impacts not just SS but can also impact local pension COLA increases and other CPI triggered events. I think that like others I was mistaken in thinking this was a general discussion about Cost of Living Increases and Retirement savings. In some cases other seniors are able to spend less and perhaps actually save more or increase spending on something else because of lower gasoline costs. Yes we know not you but in the aggregate possibly. others.
Guess when YOU are experiencing this kind of increase, it NEVER occurs to you that others are not....tried to rep you but gotta spread the love some more first.
Guess when YOU are experiencing this kind of increase, it NEVER occurs to you that others are not....tried to rep you but gotta spread the love some more first.
TY and this is the crux of the issue. Consider my pension. It is from a state I no longer live in and based on a regional CPI I no longer experience. I am in a state that has since my retirement had a lower Cost of Living but I have benefited from a higher one elsewhere. Fair or not but the rules of the game and for pensioners could be a transplant related decision. In my almost 8 years retired our pensions have gone up a decent chunk of change with compounding. Imagine a pensioner with COLA going from a real high COLA region to one that is much lower. Over time it adds up. I added two links because if anyone wanted the could compare the COLA in Austin with the economic growth.
TY and this is the crux of the issue. Consider my pension. It is from a state I no longer live in and based on a regional CPI I no longer experience. I am in a state that has since my retirement had a lower Cost of Living but I have benefited from a higher one elsewhere. Fair or not but the rules of the game and for pensioners could be a transplant related decision. In my almost 8 years retired our pensions have gone up a decent chunk of change with compounding. Imagine a pensioner with COLA going from a real high COLA region to one that is much lower. Over time it adds up. I added two links because if anyone wanted the could compare the COLA in Austin with the economic growth.
I am learning and early in my retirement. Since staying in the same place, and only 10 months in, trying to figure out HOW to keep us safe. We had to support both our widowed mothers in their later years....NEVER regret spending a penny on either of them, but we both vowed that the greatest gift we could EVER give our kids was remaining totally self sufficient!
As you can see these are prices today including some just minutes ago. Seems like under $2.00 is plentiful from this source. It may help folks find a cheaper station so here it is. Average cost was $2.064. Gas Buddy is one of the many apps to help you find the lowest prices if you have flexibility.
Hi TurborgP,
Yes, the price of gas did go down. We are very happy about that.
Here is a little example of what is going on in Austin. I keep track of all of my expenses.
From January 1, 2015 through August 31 2015, my gas expense dropped $1,043.71 from same period 2014.
From January 1, 2015 through August 31 2015, my groceries increased $346.20 from same period 2014.
From January 1, 2015 through August 31 2015, my water bill increased $226.96 from same period 2014.
From January 1, 2015 through August 31 2015, my property tax bill increased $586.64 from same period 2014.
Between the decrease in my auto fuel and the increase in just the above 3 necessary expenses I listed, I am spending $116.09 more than I did last year.
That $116.09 does not include the increase in our homeowners insurance, our auto insurance, our electric, our trash pick up, our cell phones, our cable, our internet, our HOA, the increase for my dogs' veterinary care because the vet raised his prices, it also doesn't include the price increase for our haircuts.
I am looking through my records trying to find something besides gas where the price went down, but I honestly don't see one.
So, in December, when I use a full year's worth of figures, I am going to find that the drop in gas does not exceed the increase in costs. This is not to say that it isn't helpful.
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