as I sat here this morning reading a report about gas going higher and cringing the times that my gauge says "E". I have decided to make a few changes in how I do things.
Such as concolidating my trips to pick up supplies, really qualifying customers so as to not be wasting my time and gas driving to look at some old lady;s garden club sign.
Soon my shop and home will be on the same property so driving to work will be reduced.
I'm sure more will come as driving becomes more of an expense more than it has for years.
How has it changed your ways and more important, how WILL it change your ways if any at all.
-------------------- Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA 508-865-7330
"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you." Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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My studio is next door to a high traffic Speedway station. I too cringe when I see the cashier go outside with that long pole and a hand full of numbers.
We also are consolidating our trips. I am putting small fees on things that used to be free. Such as photo shoots for business cards, etc. I have toyed with the idea of buying an F250 diesel. The prices on diesel trucks have jumped through the roof, so it's a no win. Fortunately, I live only seven miles from the studio, so, I try to stay put all day, and I am only a block from anything I need, (except a sign supply store, lol)
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3489 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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well then you can imagine the look on my face when i saw this hummer driving up my driveway yesterday...to pick up a 4x8...we actually fit it inside! cool vehicle but baaad on gas....better the rich than me.
-------------------- Karyn Bush Simply Not Ordinary, LLC Bartlett, NH 603-383-9955 www.snosigns.com info@snosigns.com Posts: 3516 | From: Bartlett, NH USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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I think we all need to keep this in perspective. I hear people on the news saying they can't go on vacation this year because gas is too high. Well, I can drive to the shore (3hrs. one way) and back on a tank. This year is will cost me about $10 more than last year, hardly a vacation killer. I know it can add up, especially if you are filling your tank every couple days, but most of us don't put on that many miles. If you drive 20,000 miles a year, get 20 miles a gallon, thats 1000 gal. Last year at 1.50 gal you spent $1500. This year at $2.00 gal you will spend $500 more, about $10 wk. If you make 20 signs a week, just as .50 to each sign!!!
-------------------- Carper's Signs 594 Union School Rd. Mount Joy, PA 17552 carpersign@earthlink.net Posts: 157 | From: Lancaster, PA, USA | Registered: Aug 1999
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I just bought a '89 Cadillac Fleetwood. It gets 7 miles to the gallon more than my shop truck.
-------------------- Terry Baird Baird Signs 3484 West Lake Rd. Canandaigua, NY 14424 Posts: 790 | From: Canandaigua, New York | Registered: Dec 2002
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I do the same as always. But I normally do a round-trip kill-all type thing, deliveries, estimates, grocery store, & visiting Mom. And I try to schedule it all on the same day. One thing I that always forget to factor in is when my son borrows my truck and returns it on "E". Love...Jill
-------------------- That is like a Mr. Potato Head with all the pieces in the wrong place. -Russ McMullin Posts: 8834 | From: Butler, PA, USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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I've been driving my car (30 MPG) whenever I can instead of my Durango. Course, hating the durango may have something to do with that too.
I leave with a list of places I have to go & do it all in 1 trip. Saves time too.
Here's what I try to do to lessen the blow when I do fill up: I go to the pump and swipe my mac card before I fill up. I wait for the pump to shut itself off, press yes for a receipt which I quickly fold & put in my wallet. I never look at the numbers on the pump and in a couple days when I'm putting stuff in the checkbook it's just another number. Denial rules!!!
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Doing the same as everyone else seems to be doing. Consolidate trips so that one trip accomplishes as much as possible. I am also trading vehicles with Shirl when I don't have to carry 4x8's etc. but have to drive 60 or 70 miles. Her car gets around 35 MPG while my van only gets 23. It isn't a huge saving but it is something saved.
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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I've always organized & consolidated errands into the most time-efficient routes, which automatically saves gas . . .so it has'nt been a big deal . . .'cept 15 or 20 bucks every few days just ain't puttin' the needle on the same mark but . . . . .
it HAS got me thinkin' about, considering, looking at all the angles, only possibly, mabey, MABEY, puttin' off a cross-country trip until this fall or next spring depending on the prices . . .
-------------------- Signs Sweet Home Alabama
oneshot on chat
"Look like a girl, act like a lady, think like a man, work like a dog" Posts: 5758 | From: "Sweet Home" Alabama | Registered: Mar 2003
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Everythang is everythang, its all relevant to what you work for. The gas prices go up a few cents and the milk doubles in price. I don't drink milk, so what I save on that I put into my vehicles. Summers coming on fast here, it was 80º+ yesterday and I don't have to use any heat for my home. My business is mobile service oriented and I've got 4 vehicles to choose from and one in transition. Raise your prices or complain the rest of your life. I drive everywhere and nothing has changed for me, its all relevant.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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I've pretty much parked my full size pick up, I bought a Mazda Miata a few months ago for my son and I to play around with at SCCA events, it's now my daily driver, I barely fit in it, it's noisy, rides rough but gets 30 mpg, twice what my truck makes. Heck if all the gals I see dropping one kid off at school in the 8 passenger Suburban would drive a small car we'd have no gas shortage
-------------------- Mark Perkins Performance Signs & Graphics Eunice, Louisiana "The heart of Cajun Country" Posts: 506 | From: Eunice Louisiana 70535 | Registered: Nov 1998
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My van gets 13 mpg...or about 750 gallons/year. That translates to about an additional $400/year. OR one 4X8
Back in the early '70s gas was about $.35/gal, and shop rates were about $10/hr....translates to about the same in today's world.
Back in the early '80s, a friend was in charge of shale oil exploration & extraction in the Southwest...he said we have enough there to easily last us for 200 years...if crude oil hits $40/barrel!
Don't forget that we have enough crude oil off Santa Barbara, Ca, and the North Slope in Alaska, to rival Saudi Arabia, BUT the 'enviromentalsists' have prevented us from extracting it.
[ May 27, 2004, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Si Allen ]
-------------------- Si Allen #562 La Mirada, CA. USA
(714) 521-4810
si.allen on Skype
siallen@dslextreme.com
"SignPainters do It with Longer Strokes!"
Never mess with your profile while in a drunken stupor!!!
Brushasaurus on Chat Posts: 8831 | From: La Mirada, CA, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Good point, Ron. No need to stop living. Thanks for putting it into perspective. I still think we should be on our guard. Too many times I have absorbed tiny increases. Just a thought...I still love my job, and even gas prices won't change that! It's all good! \0/
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3489 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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I've been van pooling on the day job for the last 2 months. between tolls and gas and wear and tear, I figure I'm 175 dollars to the good/month after paying $90/month for the ride. 13 rider and I sleep on the 45 minute commute.
Maybe we should all drive tiny sh-tboxes, ride bicycles, jog to work or carpool and have the government ban NASCAR, Drag racing, Off shore boat racing and the numerous other motorsports we like just to satisfy a few who haven't the dollars to enjoy life as it is. We could all become spokespersons for the mentally handycapped whose desire is to save the whales, spotted owls and trees. Normal growth can take on a whole new meaning as we close down schools, stop TV commercials and educate the puplic as to our new way of life. I'd love to see an electric motor power my 64 Plymouth while driving on the intersate at 70mph, but that ain't gonna happen so I guess I'll just have to raise my prices, continue with quality work and not worry whats going on in Washington DC or Iraq for that matter. I used to really like this site until I found out that there were so many leftest, right wing, bleeding heart liberal, commie, pinko enviromentalist nutcases who need a second opinion on how long they should stop at a stop sign before continuing on their journey through life.
-------------------- HotLines Joey Madden - pinstriping since 1952 'Perfection, its what I look for and what I live for'
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A leftist right wing? Hmmmmmmm.... I don't think so. LOL!
-------------------- Bruce Bowers
DrCAS Custom Lettering and Design Saint Cloud, Minnesota
"Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out." - Art Linkletter Posts: 6454 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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The truth is: I'm only in it for the money. I will not give up my SUV with the V8 power, I know and love. Pickup has a big six cylinder and that's fine for my son and wife to drive around.
""Good judgment comes from experience; and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" - Will Rogers Posts: 3489 | From: Beautiful Newaygo, Michigan | Registered: Mar 2003
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The gas prices arent really affecting my driving habits. I still take the scenic detours home when I'm out, I still run to the beach a couple times a day. If I consolodate trips it's to save time because I'm about 10-15 minutes from the main part of town, and usually I forget to make a stop while I'm out so I end up walking right back out the door.
Gas prices definitely are not stopping people from bringing their powerboats out to the lake this weekend - traffic in town is tied up with gigantic boats sitting in lines to get to the boat ramps.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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Caution: The following rant is not suitable for everyone. Nor is it aimed at anyone in particular, just the general pumkinheaded American who believes cheap gasoline is a god-given right.
Higher gas prices? I'm all for them. Get it up to about $4 a gallon and get the old geezers and the goddam SUV urban-combat/yuppie soccer-monsters off the road. Seriously, get gas up to a price that actually makes people THINK about where and what they are driving and why. Oh, you have a vehicle that gets 8 mpg and you want the rest of the world to pay the price, as in an interventionist foreign policy and a society that owes its functioning to the oil corporations and the useless bastards of the Saudi royal family? Nuts to you.
I own three vehicles: an '87 Dodge Dakota shop truck, an '84 Mercedes-Benz diesel wagon that weighs as much as most SUVs, but gets over 25 mpg, and a 1995 Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle. Between the three my gas bill, with recent increases, is about $100 a month. I wish some of the other necessities of life were that cheap.
Seriously, if your life is dictated by the need to sit in traffic for an hour or more each day, in a six-ton SUV with gigantic tires that never leaves the pavement and costs ten grand a year for fuel, maintenance and insurance, may I respectfully suggest an examination of your priorities. And don't burble about wanting to drive a "safe" vehicle - you want safety? Unplug the damn cell phone, pull the TV set out, take a traffic safety course so you actually know how to drive, then wake the f*** up and pay attention. You want to know what's wrong with American motorists? Ride a motorcycle and you'll find out - most of you are asleep, pre-occupied or just plain dead from the neck up. You take it all for granted - the cheap gas, the roads, the vehicles that move at terrifying speeds with no effort and little actual involvement from their drivers. This stupidity and incompetence slaughters 50,000 people a year in traffic accidents - but the deaths of eight hundred trained soldiers in the invasion and attempted pacification of some shythole in the Middle East is worthy of detailed daily coverage on CNN. Get me some Kleenex, quick.
Here's a basic fact of life. Gasoline is not air, or water or food. Its a specialized industrial hydrocarbon that costs money to create, transport, distribute and use. We have become used to paying next to nothing for it, relatively speaking, so whenever politics in the mideast or economic realities of supply and demand drive the price up, people start to whine and bitch and cry, the trumpets of flatulence start echoing from Washington, and suddenly its a "crisis", a threat to our precious way of life, which basically means our way of sleepwalking through life while evading reality. If gasoline hitting two bucks a gallon causes this much fuss, what would a REAL crises do?
-------------------- "A wise man concerns himself with the truth, not with what people believe." - Aristotle
Cam Bortz Finest Kind Signs Pondside Iron works 256 S. Broad St. Pawcatuck, Ct. 06379 "Award winning Signs since 1988" Posts: 3051 | From: Pawcatuck,Connecticut USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Cam...your points are well made. I agree that many folks have taken low fuel costs for granted for a long time, both in the USA and Canada.
I have always been aware of my costs of doing business, and now I am even more aware. I DO use Shirl's more efficient vehicle when possible, it only makes sense.
You mentioned that your fuel costs run around $100/month. Mine currently run around $80/week plus Shirl's $20/week. That is a result of living where we do and having to drive to get anywhere. BUT we save more in property taxes by living in the country. We save more by growing our own veggies. And we save a lot of heart attacks by not having to commute into or through large cities. So it does average out...BUT we have lived here for almost 25 years, so the increased fuel cost is noticible.
Spending $100/week is a cost of doing business and earning a living though. My prices HAVE increased slightly in the last couple of months to reflect that increased cost also.
By the way..we don't drive gas guzzlers...2002 Chevy Venture extended van and a 2004 Chevy Cavalier.
Enuf of my ramblings!!!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Here's a legitimate question regarding higher oil prices: If the OPEC countries set the prices at say, $60.00 per barrel, then WHY isn't a commodity like wheat, or any other food export valued at $100.00 dollars per bushel? After all, the farmer who grows it has to use a significant amount of fuel to plow, plant, and harvest. The prices he gets have to start reflecting HIS COST of production. The Oil exporting countries don't have a whole lot of arable land, so growing their own isn't a viable option. Why in hell do we all simply pony up the bucks WITHOUT passing some of those increases right back in the form of higher costs to them???? When that starts happening, then you won't be seeing annual meetings of OPEC, to determine just how much they will demand for their oil.
-------------------- Ken Henry Henry & Henry Signs London, Ontario Canada (519) 439-1881 e-mail: kjmlhenry@rogers.com
Why do I get all those on-line offers to sell me Viagara, when the only thing hardening is my arteries ? Posts: 2684 | From: London,Ontario, Canada | Registered: Feb 1999
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I've always tried to run all my errands at once, mainly because I waste time and if I force myself to do everything in 1 trip, I only waste 1 afternoon.
There was an article in the local birdcage-liner yesterday about the cost of gas & how the local dirt tracks are concerned about attendance at the races and these hobby-racers whining about fuel costs to get their car & crew to the tracks. 1 line caught my attention. It seems racing fuel HASN'T gone up in price.
Some compare the cost of gas to cost of milk or whatever. When I need milk, I pick up a jug and honestly don't have a clue as to what it costs. There aren't giant signs at every corner posting the cost of milk.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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Well I fixed them real good!!!! I traded my pick-up that got 21 mpg for one that gets 11.5. And I drive my pro-street every day and it gets 5 mpg using 112 octane at $5.90 a gallon. To top that off I bought a new toy that burns 15 to 20 gallons per hour. If that doesn't fix them I don't know what will. I'll be back, I've got to go to work and buy some more gas.
-------------------- Ed CJ Williams CJ Graffx Christiana,Pa. cjgraffx@comcast.net Just have'n fun.... Posts: 296 | From: Christiana,Pa. | Registered: May 1999
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Why would anyone hope fuel would go up to $4 a gallon. Why would anyone want to pay $10 for a Hamburger or equivalent high prices for everything else that is hauled around the country by trucks. The truckers have to pass on the cost to their customers who in turn pass it along to everyone else.
Look at the cost of milk going up. Some of the Grocery Stores are putting out bulletins that the increase is the result of the farmers raising their prices, when in reality, it is the middle man who is raising his prices...one of the reasons is the increase in fuel costs.
I would prefer cheap gas...It burn just as well as Expensive gas.
-------------------- Rove Gratz Gratz Signs 342 Walden Station Drive Macon, GA 31216 rovegratz@aol.com Home Page: http://rove-342.tripod.com Posts: 861 | From: Macon, GA 31216 | Registered: Jan 2004
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Rovelle..We would all love cheap gas and milk and food and beer and smokes and everything else..including cheap signs. Should we lower our sign prices to hope to lower gas prices??? NOT!!!!!!
Truth is..things are as cheap or as expensive today as they were 50 years ago...including signs, when you consider what folks were earning 50 years ago.
Actually I can think of one item that is cheaper today..and is about as good as it gets. I remember paying $9/pound for Filet mignon (beef tenderloin) back in the mid 70's..it is still the same price.
We eat more of the "prime" stuff now than we did then because it is about the same price and we are earning WAY more!!! Even with the lately increased fuel costs.
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
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Kissy, nope racing fuel hasn't gone up much in price recently. It's gone up, just not at the same rate pump gas has. It's probably because like the airlines, the race fuel companies buy their gas years in advance and get their prices locked in. Their price increases reflect just their regular cost of operation/production increases, but when it comes time for the contract renewal there's a bigger jump. Racing fuel from VP, depending on the blend being used, ranges something like $4-$6 per gallon. The fuel that goes into my jetski is close to $5/gallon, a choice I made consciously when I built a screamin' engine.
$4 gas definitely would make people sit up and revaluate things - it would cause a shift to smaller, lighter, more efficient vehicles too kinda like most of the vehicles you see in the UK. When friends from the UK visit me here they just cannot get over how big most of the vehicles here are. Even cars we consider small are big to them. It also opens up the market for the ultralight, barebones, no luxury, performance cars I've got on my drawing table.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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Everything in life is relative. We live in a capitalist country that gives everyone the opportunity to make money. I really don't care about gas prices, milk price or supplier prices. I just pass those cost on to my customers. I'll always find a way to make more money to pay for the things in life I enjoy doing. Everyone here is in business to make money and oil companies have just as much right to make it as I do. That's what America is all about. People take so many small things too serious and end up with heart attacks. Don't sweat the little things. We all end up dead far too soon.
-------------------- Bob Stephens Skywatch Signs Zephyrhills, FL
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I refuse to let my blood pressure rise with the price at the pump. But.....there are folks in other businesses who are effected by the prices and cannot raise their prices.
The farmer brings his crop in and gets what he can. So does the fisherman. My nephew crabs for a living. He is currently running 750 pots per day. He burns 35 gal. diesel in the boat and 5 gal. gas in the generator daily. When he gets to the dock he is still getting what he got last year for them.
So, if we raise our prices solely on the fact that we are spending $20.00 a week more on gas will folks like my nephew be willing to pay or go to "Mr. Quickie"?
-------------------- Kathy Joiner River Road Graphics 41628 River Road Ponchatoula, La.70454
Old enough to know better...Too young to resist. Posts: 1891 | From: Ponchatoula, LA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Kissy, most race cars at a dirt track burn alcohol. The racing gasoline is like Mike said, handled seperately from pump gas. Besides, unless a racer lives within a few mile of a track, the tow vehicle will use way more gas getting to the track and back then the race car will racing. I'm in a catch 22 as far as the gas guzzlers go. I can't concieve of driving something getting less than 25 mpg, yet the majority of my work is done on the big suv's
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
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