by Kate Johns

Created on: May 23, 2008   Last Updated: May 28, 2008

We have three gas stations within a half- mile radius right up the road from our home. On my daily ride driving the kids to school and to run errands I have experienced seeing gas prices rise on an almost daily basis. Just recently when the price went up ten cents in one day, my 17- year- old son and my nine year old daughter blurted out, "Gas prices went up again!"

Too shocked to respond to anything except the thought of taking more money out of the bank to fill up the gas tank. I thought, I'm going to have to take out a bank loan to drive my car. Last summer when gas prices were fluctuating every week, we bought an SUV. At that time my husband had a pretty good job, but his employer decided that one small mistake meant no more paychecks.

We are being hit really hard, as almost everyone in the United States is currently. It's the topic of conversation almost anywhere we go, from the grocery store line to volunteering at school. It is what is on everyone's minds today with one gallon of gas costing more than a gallon of milk. It's a very unsettling feeling that driving a car may become a luxury we can no longer afford. It's a worry in the back of almost everyone's mind, and it's a thought forming on the tip of everyone's tongue.

How has the high price of gas affected our everyday lives? Believe it or not the high price of gas has affected almost every aspect of everything we do. Prices at the grocery store have increased due to the high cost of gas. Many everyday items we take for granted such as milk, and bread have gone up as well with diesel fuel for trucks skyrocketing.
No longer are we buying any expensive foods that we used to buy like fresh salmon and fresh shrimp or better cuts of meat. We are buying less food when we grocery shop to cut down the overall weekly food bill.

We have cut down on driving and are buying gas less often. My 17- year- old son was working a job requiring 160 miles of travel every week. My husband and I talked him into getting another job closer to home. We have also delayed our son from getting his driver's license. Due to the high cost of gas, we are not allowing him to get his permit yet, until the gas situation gets better or he can afford to pay for the gas and his share of the car insurance himself.

Gas prices have affected the way we drive. We think twice before using our vehicles now. I no longer run to the convenience store for unnecessary trips. I walk my daughter to the bus stop in the morning instead of driving her to school

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