The cost of fuel is on everyone’s minds lately. The higher prices at the pumps have caused South Carolina commuters to change their perspective considerably. Luckily, for now anyhow, the price of fuel has appeared to have stabilized to around $3.50 per gallon in the Charleston area.
With this most recent reprieve comes an opportunity to consider the impact of higher fuel prices on you and your family, your community, and our state.
Attached to this post is a graph of my fuel costs spanning an eighteen month period from January 2007 until June 2008. Much to my dismay over that time, my monthly fuel costs have essentially doubled, rising from $150 per month to over $300 per month.
For that cost, I suspect I’m still getting a pretty good value overall. I drive to work and back. My wife shuttles our two children to and from school, the bus stop, and various after school functions. We both enjoy the opportunity to run the myriad errands required to keep a family of four well fed and properly provisioned.
And, as you can see by the spikes in the graph, we even have enjoyed several driving vacations – that is to say not vacations from having to drive, but, vacations where we chose to drive. (If you’ve paid for an airline ticket lately, with all of the extra fees you know why we chose to drive instead of fly.)
If you’re reading this, something in your own journey has led you to consider a review of your driving habits and that of your family and friends. I encourage you to add up your fuel receipts and calculate how much money you’re spending on fuel now compared to a year ago, and then consider the long term affects of channeling those resources away from the important things in your life aside from transpiration - Like your family, your education, your health….
Respond to this post, by sharing with other Carolina Commuters how you think increased fuel prices are compromising your quality of life.
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