Tag Archives: economy

General, Uncategorized

No Worries Here

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I have occasionally picked up a story here or there over the last couple months referring to how Americans are really “cutting back” as a result of our fragile economy.  Y’know, they’re doing things like getting rid of their landlines or considering downgrading their cable package, or even *GASP* skipping the $30 bottles of wine and buying the $10 bottle.  Yeah, times are EXTRA tough…

Makes me glad that I live in an already pretty thrifty and economically conservative part of the country here in WI.  I’m not saying that no one around here has any problems, but I think there are probably a lot more folks in this state that were living within their means to begin with.  Makes these times of uncertainty a lot easier to stomach.

Nobody WANTS to see a global economic collapse, but if we as a society can weather this storm, I don’t see anything wrong with giving people who had to have everything at the moment that they wanted it a little wake-up call.

General, Uncategorized

Still More Room to Get Crazier

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Latest word from the Energy Information Administration is that gas will peak around $3.60 in June.  As the linked article mentions, there are plenty of folks who think it’s looney to imagine the price will stop there.

This, combined with the spiraling cost of… well, everything, further galvanizes my mindset to be “I’ve got to get rid of this petrol-guzzling monstrosity ASAP.”  Now, those of you who’ve seen what I drive may think that I’M nuts, but remember that I drove the Festiva for all those years, and I was spoiled by its fantastic fuel economy.

I’ve mentioned to a number of people that I’ve read rumors about a Honda subcompact hybrid that is apparently still in the cards for the 2009 model year.  Granted, I don’t really follow the “news” about the auto industry that closely, but until I see a picture and a photo and a MSRP for this vehicle I’m not going to bank on it.  Something priced in the range they’re talking about got me to thinking about a math problem, though– feel free to take a stab at your leisure:

If I were to buy a new car that averaged 60 miles per gallon (versus my current average of 30) at a net cost of about $5,000.00, how long would it take the savings in fuel to offset the purchase price, if I drive the car 15,000 miles a year?

So that’s something I’ve got on the brain.