by Jay Moody

Created on: May 24, 2008   Last Updated: May 28, 2008

In 1990 I started driving. I was never a rich kid and I couldn't always afford to go out and do any number of the things my friends could afford to do. I didn't always have the newest shoes or the most fashionable school clothes. But when I started driving gas cost only a little over a dollar a gallon and just a few dollars could get me around on a Friday night with my buddies or my girlfriend.

Throughout my twenties I was a college student, living on my own and often broke, without much money. When the weekend rolled around I might not have much money to go to a movie or a nice restaurant but I could usually scrape up enough change to put gallon or two worth of gasoline in my car and head off to spend the day at the beach or camping on the river. That was something that was always affordable.

For a livelier weekend my friends and I would load up and head to New Orleans to see a show that wasn't appearing in my hometown or even just to enjoy the nightlife of Bourbon Street. But these days things are much different. I no longer think about that pleasant drive to the beach as an inexpensive way to spend my off day. A trip to the river isn't as financially convenient. And going out of town for the weekend, well that's the furthest thing from my mind.

I rarely go anywhere anymore because quite frankly I can't afford it. I find myself prioritizing and rationing my gas usage in ways that I never did before. If I can at all justify not driving in order to avoid the extra strain on my finances I don't go. And when it comes time for me to consider buying something extra, like a commodity or a new gizmo I find myself thinking of the price in terms of how much gas money that is.

When I go to the grocery store to buy food, I'm aghast at the prices there as well. I fully understand the financial strain truckers and suppliers are under so I don't hold them accountable for this increase. But I still find myself quite often in situations where I have to count the bills in my wallet to calculate how much I can afford to spend on food and basic household necessities so I can make sure that I keep enough cash to squeeze a couple dollars into the tank just to get me home.

Of course I've been broke before, trying to get from point A to point B with the little red needle on E, but it was still very different. Before these recent gas hikes, even if I was broke and desperately in need of fuel I could somehow come up with some change that could get me about a half gallon that would

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