Cheapest ever fill up

[Perfectlap]

Gas empty light came on. Pulled into Exxon station, on the toll highway mind you where gas is always 30 cents more.
Gas was $2.01 for regular. $2.40 for 93.
I filled up the car for $36. This has never happened in 11 years. I did donuts in the parking lot.

Regular gas at Costco is $1.67 today.
:dance:

[rick3000]

I filled up from nearly empty for $29 last week. That is half of what I paid about a year ago.

[RandallNeighbour]

I filled up my 26 gallon F150 for half price last time. Holy cow the price of fuel is cheap right now.

Sadly, I will have friends and neighbors out of work by March with the price of oil this low. Oil and Gas provides a broad basis for our local economy here in Sauna City, USA (Houston).

This means that today we talk about cheap fuel prices in Houston. Tomorrow we will be talking about how cheaply we can buy a house!

[patssle]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

This means that today we talk about cheap fuel prices in Houston. Tomorrow we will be talking about how cheaply we can buy a house!

That's what I'm keeping my eye on. If some of these housing prices crash way out in the suburbs....might be a good investing opportunity!

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

I filled up my 26 gallon F150 for half price last time. Holy cow the price of fuel is cheap right now.

Sadly, I will have friends and neighbors out of work by March with the price of oil this low. Oil and Gas provides a broad basis for our local economy here in Sauna City, USA (Houston).

This means that today we talk about cheap fuel prices in Houston. Tomorrow we will be talking about how cheaply we can buy a house!

They will be on nothing more than a temporary lay off.

[Porsche9]

Friday I filled the Boxster up for $27. Cheap.

I do remember filling up for $1 a gallon back in the late 80's. Prices have alway gone up and down pretty dramatically. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

They will be on nothing more than a temporary lay off.

Not necessarily. There is a lot of talk that oil could go down down down much more. If that's the case, it could cause a lot of grief to both the US and Canadian economies. If oil prices fall too much - it just won't be cost effective to get the oil out of the ground - will be cheaper to bring it in from overseas.

It's sad - but we actually need oil prices at a 'higher' level for the good of the whole economy. (not crazy high, just high enough to make it profitable).

When people talk about those low oil prices and cheap gas - remember, that oil all came from the middle east. So we can go back to depending on them for our oil or we can pay a bit more for it and dig it up here.

[woodsman]

Originally Posted by Giller

Not necessarily. There is a lot of talk that oil could go down down down much more. If that's the case, it could cause a lot of grief to both the US and Canadian economies. If oil prices fall too much - it just won't be cost effective to get the oil out of the ground - will be cheaper to bring it in from overseas.

It's sad - but we actually need oil prices at a 'higher' level for the good of the whole economy. (not crazy high, just high enough to make it profitable).

When people talk about those low oil prices and cheap gas - remember, that oil all came from the middle east. So we can go back to depending on them for our oil or we can pay a bit more for it and dig it up here.

OK and where does GREED come into the equation? I mean since when does oil 'JUST have to make a profit'?

[woodsman]

I heard it said () that OPEC was doing this to get rid of the frackers.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by woodsman

OK and where does GREED come into the equation? I mean since when does oil 'JUST have to make a profit'?

Greed? It's called fiscal responsibility. If it costs more to pull oil out of the ground than what you can sell it for - that's a bad business and will soon be bankrupt.

You don't work for free, so neither will these companies.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Giller

Not necessarily. There is a lot of talk that oil could go down down down much more. If that's the case, it could cause a lot of grief to both the US and Canadian economies. If oil prices fall too much - it just won't be cost effective to get the oil out of the ground - will be cheaper to bring it in from overseas.

It's sad - but we actually need oil prices at a 'higher' level for the good of the whole economy. (not crazy high, just high enough to make it profitable).

When people talk about those low oil prices and cheap gas - remember, that oil all came from the middle east. So we can go back to depending on them for our oil or we can pay a bit more for it and dig it up here.

That's all it is talk. Oil prices will be back up because lower prices globally will lift aggregate consumption. Some analysts project a half point increase in global GDP from ~$50 oil. The longer these low prices stick the more consumption of just about everything will pick up (the best stimulus there is for the U.S. consumer) which of course shifts the all important expectation of demand back in a bullish direction. Global production was exceeding actual demand even back when oil was pinned above $100. Yet the prices would not budge! Evidently the speculators expected demand in the faster growing economies to keep plowing ahead despite the excess production.
Obviously they don't expect that to be the case in the near term anymore but you can't stop countries with low debt, growing populations, easy access to capital, and improving infrastructures to just grind to a halt forever. The expectation of demand can turn on a dime. I remember in 2008 or there abouts when oil prices shot north in the middle of the trading day because some news site reported a gun boat battle in the Gulf... that happened two days prior.

Originally Posted by thstone

I think a more accurate statement is that the rich are getting richer by leaps and bounds as the truly poor merely inch upwards over time.

The bottom line is that everyone, rich and poor alike, get richer each year (but by differing amounts).

I believe that the middle class are actually getting poorer when you factor in all their long-term commitments and their higher expected household contributions. For instance, the savings rate in America is still barely 1-2% but the cost of just about everything but oil is rising. Unless the typical American has some portion of their savings in aggressive investments, (that ends well) this math of what's coming in vs. what's going out doesn't really add up over the course of a working life. I'm not sure how any growth in net worth can be expected running a household deficit and the fact that people are no longer getting rich from owning their homes. Wage increases for the majority haven't been anything to write home about since we were putting people on the moon.
Agree on the wealthy. This is about the best time ever to be an investor. Low taxes relative to just about every other advanced economy, plenty of corporate global growth to see your LTCG rise indefinitely.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

That's all it is talk. Oil prices will be back up because lower prices globally will lift aggregate consumption. Some analysts project a half point increase in global GDP from ~$50 oil. The longer these low prices stick the more consumption of just about everything will pick up (the best stimulus there is for the U.S. consumer) which of course shifts the all important expectation of demand back in a bullish direction. Global production was exceeding actual demand even back when oil was pinned above $100. Yet the prices would not budge! Evidently the speculators expected demand in the faster growing economies to keep plowing ahead despite the excess production.
Obviously they don't expect that to be the case in the near term anymore but you can't stop countries with low debt, growing populations, easy access to capital, and improving infrastructures to just grind to a halt forever. The expectation of demand can turn on a dime. I remember in 2008 or there abouts when oil prices shot north in the middle of the trading day because some news site reported a gun boat battle in the Gulf... that happened two days prior.

I read a ton of 'articles' relating to mutual funds and the stock market, and of course Oil is heavily mentioned. For every article I read saying oil is going up, I can find one that says it's going down. A lot of 'conspiracy theories' out there - the biggest being that oil is being forced down in price in an attempt to cripple Russia economically. Others think the mid east is pushing prices down to hurt US production. Many experts claim it's about China and how their growth has stabilized and therefore demand is down big time. At the end of the day, it's a whole bunch of speculation - and you might be very right and it'll shoot back up - or my gut might be right and it keeps going down. Either way, there is money to be made in the markets right now - just might be a bit longer term.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

I believe that the middle class are actually getting poorer when you factor in all their long-term commitments and their higher expected household contributions. For instance, the savings rate in America is still barely 1-2% but the cost of just about everything but oil is rising. Unless the typical American has some portion of their savings in aggressive investments, (that ends well) this math of what's coming in vs. what's going out doesn't really add up over the course of a working life. I'm not sure how any growth in net worth can be expected running a household deficit and the fact that people are no longer getting rich from owning their homes. Wage increases for the majority haven't been anything to write home about since we were putting people on the moon.
Agree on the wealthy. This is about the best time ever to be an investor. Low taxes relative to just about every other advanced economy, plenty of corporate global growth to see your LTCG rise indefinitely.

I missed this part earlier. I would counter that the savings rate is irrelevant and history shows that the savings rate closely matches the inflation rate and therefore, you never actually 'make money' in a savings account-type investment. And then factor in taxes on that income, you actually have less buying power. Higher rates typically mean higher inflation and therefore nullify those high rates.
You definitely have a point on the house aspect. People are now carrying mortgages well into retirement - something that didn't happen even 10 years ago. Therefore people now have to work longer into what normally would be their retirement, which can have a huge impact on a person's stress levels and therefore overall health.
I still argue a portfolio filled with a variety of blue-chip, dividend paying stocks will provide you the best return over the long term, with a small portion in savings to cover those emergencies. (don't want to have to cash out if the markets are down) The key of course is not panicking and selling when the markets go down. That's when you buy!

[SJEFFB986]

Gas in my part of the country (Montgomery County, Pa) is $2.30 for regular, a bargain for my other 2 cars. About $2.54 for premium in the Boxster. Not complaining at all... Pa is always higher than most states because of gas taxes.

[Fintro11]

West coast Canada was about $60 to fill up

[Retroman1969]

I've been filling up from near dead empty with 91 octane for around $28.
Sure makes my work easier! (700 miles +\- per week)

[mountainman]

When I was in high school I drove a 52 chevy and gas was $0.19 a gallon. When Obama took office it was $1.86. It is a lot better now than it has been in the last few years, but that is only because they got us accustomed to $4.00 a gallon. Never fear, they will get it back up there soon. Enjoy it while you can.

[Slate 01]

Originally Posted by mountainman

When I was in high school I drove a 52 chevy and gas was $0.19 a gallon. When Obama took office it was $1.86. It is a lot better now than it has been in the last few years, but that is only because they got us accustomed to $4.00 a gallon. Never fear, they will get it back up there soon. Enjoy it while you can.

No doubt. Amazing what conditioning does to the masses. We all should actually pissed at numerous ploys perpetrated on our economy in the last number of years.

[JayG]

Our gas in CA went up a little after the New Year.
Something the Governator did a few years back . Thanks Arnold

Its still cheaper that it was 6 months ago and a lot less than 1-2 years ago. Just paid ~$2.55/gal for 91. Cant find any 93 around here in San Diego.

Lots of games being played by the ruling party in DC as well as the oil companies

[Timco]

1.87 here for reg.