quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Eventually the most financially vulnerable will hurt the most. Sadly, too many of those most vulnerable vote for those who hurt them the most. It doesn't make sense to me.

I have been saying this for years. It makes me shake my head why people do not get it.

quote:

Eventually the most financially vulnerable will hurt the most.

The low-wage workers driving a beater car to work are the very people leftists should be caring about. Instead, they welcome high gas prices. They want sky-high Eurotrash-style gas taxes to fund their socialistic pipe dreams as well as force us into little cars and preferably public transportation, but they can't be honest about it.

High gas prices are one thing. Shortages are worse. I remember when there was talk of the govt issuing Ration Cards like they did in World War II. Lines for gas were a mile long.

I drive less than 8000 miles per year total on BOTH vehicles.

Tundra gets 17-ish, RAV has been averaging 31 overall, including Winter driving.

Drive the RAV more, especially since it has room in the back for a month's worth of groceries or a couple of month's worth of feed for chickens. Drive the truck less, probably only when needed for pulling a trailer, and charge more for the few jobs I use it for.

Overall inflation due to horrendous transportation costs worries me more than personal use of fuel.

The furnace in my shop crapped out. I'm not real anxious to fix it (which may well involve replacing it at a cost of several thousand dollars) given the price of fuel. Heating the shop is a luxury I can manage without. Pisses me off after all the work and expense I went to building it, but I'll manage.

Edit to add: Mrs. PHPaul and I are going to spend down some savings on durable goods like a new wood stove and a few other things on the possibility (probability?) that before long cash isn't going to be worth the paper it's printed on. Stuff we need anyway, get it now.

I've heard another measure of "privilege" is not caring how much gas costs when you fill up.

Y'know, normally I don't pay too much attention to the actual gas prices when I fill up. I'm not the kind of guy who drives across town to save 5 cents a gallon. Even when gas prices rise significantly, I still need to drive so I just have to pay it anyway. I've structured my budget to include a decent cushion for the unforeseen, and am therefore able to absorb things like unexpected gas price spikes or a higher than expected electric bill due to a heat wave without much trouble.

The trouble comes when everything hits at once, as it's doing now: $4+ gas AND skyrocketing grocery prices AND spiking utility rates... That's when the budget starts getting stretched to breaking.

Any chance the IRS is gonna re-adjust the mileage deduction for 2022, given the huge gas price increase? I drive a ton for work and keeping the mileage deduction the same while gas prices soar is gonna sting a little.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
Any chance the IRS is gonna re-adjust the mileage deduction for 2022, given the huge gas price increase? I drive a ton for work and keeping the mileage deduction the same while gas prices soar is gonna sting a little.

And allow a bigger deduction? Good luck with that.

quote:

Any chance the IRS is gonna re-adjust the mileage deduction for 2022, given the huge gas price increase?

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It is a possibility. Rates are generally adjusted in December in the year prior. I would not count on it.

Major premise is that we won't alter our spending on other things. There are a large number of economies which can be exercised - it's making the choices of which is less needed.

How much is spent impulsively buying and modifying firearms? Of late it seems we are already moving into only those who have currently disposable income doing it. That is a much smaller pool of posters than five or ten years ago. Plus, a lot moved to cell phones and twitter away on that.

So, how much is blown on a cell plan with unlimited data - just to get a text from the wife for milk and bread? Carry TWO phones, one for work one for family? I can tell you that shelling out hundreds a month for 4 lines on a unlimited plan might come to a halt. Tracphone etc to the budget rescue, I spend $100 a year for access. The phone cost $39 three years ago. I might buy a 1GB data upgrade before vacation to get Maps on the road, but I don't leave it on for 12 hours driving to the coast, just the few tricky or new things we plan to do different. We have a Rand McNally road atlas for all the rest.

SAT/Cable? time to disconnect. All we get is Air, over 30 channels, then bought a smart TV, meh, another 167 channels of more junk. We consistently watch a few programs a week and the TV is off before 6pm anyway. Not a cost efficient way to get news anymore.

Internet link? Currently on ATT and about to kick it to the curb, extravagant. We can get service for half if we would just decide to change.

New car? Need something with more gas mileage, no. The payments are usually more expensive than the few miles per gallon you might get extra, while just paying for $6 a gallon can be directly controlled. Organize your trips, stop cruising around for entertainment, and lower your fuel costs. For that matter, cut your car expenses in half by buying cars that are half the price, and pay cash. All I have to do to drive a 05 F150 is fill it with oil and check the gas guage. My DIY oil changes run $30. Full synthetic and a major brand filter, not an orange (blow your motor) econofail. I mounted the tires myself on a $45 Harbor Freight manual tire mounter, used ceramic beads to balance, and saved $25 a tire in having them do it. When I ordered the tires I opted for a vendor who would drop ship no charge at the local store.

Eating out for dinner? Cut it in half. Quit blowing money on privilege, eat at home. Lunch out? No, pack a sandwich. Gym? is it close enough to walk or run there, why not? I had to meet fitness standards for the military for 22 years, never had a gym membership. Just did the workout at home and ran a pattern that got the miles in. Back then it was downhill the first mile, uphill the second, it took another 30 seconds easy off the run time when we did the test on flat land.

Smoke? Yes it would be hard to quit, that's why they sell them. Stretch your packs, don't tie smoking in with other comforts like food or whatever. Same with vaping, it's not cheaper.

Alcohol - another one to slow down or even stop.

A spouse? Ok it might be a stretch. But I do know that two do not live as cheaply as one, it's the shared housing, utilities etc which are. As above, cut them.

Amazon/Ebay? How much of that is just ladder climbing consumerism for new toys or icons of socio economic status? You NEED a $400 Swiss watch? A new $$$ OTF knife? The latest LPVO for that range rifle that sits in the safe 360 days a year? If the price of gas is starting to bite the priorities and the limit to a monthly expense on non critical participation trophies just might need to earn the stinkeye now. Those 5.11 grass mowing pants, the $155 once a vacation summer hiking boots, the $350 two days a year Goretex hunting coats could be reconsidered. Trying to keep up with the Jones's in their 1 ton diesel dually truck hauling kids to soccer practice could stand for examination - don't be them.

Don't buy that house in their neighborhood, either. You might be able to make the payments now, having a paid house already is a good thing. Ask me how I know. We made it to retirement with nothing more than utilities to cover. And a wood stove with plenty on hand.

$6 dollar a gallon gas is no different than $4 a gallon during the Obama regime, been there done that. Stop ordering pizza out and it's covered.

@Tirod

With one exception, everything on that list has been a way of life for me for years.

Mrs. PHPaul insists on having Satellite TV. We did cut the bill nearly in half when B-i-L moved out and we dumped all the sports shit.

Other than that, we have always bought only what we needed, never borrowed money for anything smaller than a car, never ran any credit card debt beyond very occasionally spreading something out over 2/3 payments, otherwise 2 digit balance. Never eat out unless on a road trip.

If she or I want a toy, we either pay cash out of our "cookie jar" money, or don't get it.

So, while I could probably find $100 a month (2 if I could dump TV altogether) it'd be from really focusing on details: cutting electricity use, buying cheaper brands of food (bleah...), working even harder on combining trips than we already do, and turning the heat down. It's at 68° now, has been for years.

That's an awfully broad brush you're painting with there, Tirod.

You seem to be assuming that everyone here is an extravagant consumerist toy whore who eats out 7 days a week and desires to keep up with the Joneses, who therefore can easily shave piles of unnecessary spending off their budget if they'd only pull their financial head out of their financial ass.

But it's not quite as simple as "stop ordering pizza and it's covered", if you already don't order pizza, is it?

As for what this forum was like 5-10 years ago, are you a long-time lurker who for whatever reason just recently decided to join and start posting daily, or is that another assumption?

Yes let’s sacrifice our lifestyles and not address the real problem: FUCKING DEMOCRATS SCREWING US

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
That's an awfully broad brush you're painting with there, Tirod.

You seem to be assuming that everyone here is an extravagant consumerist toy whore who eats out 7 days a week and desires to keep up with the Joneses, who therefore can easily shave piles of unnecessary spending off their budget if they'd only pull their financial head out of their financial ass.

But it's not quite as simple as "stop ordering pizza and it's covered", if you already don't order pizza, is it?

As for what this forum was like 5-10 years ago, are you a long-time lurker who for whatever reason just recently decided to join and start posting daily, or is that another assumption?

My pizza last three to four meals.

Will the goobermint start handing out cash, again, because they created the high gas prices?

Will they make public transportation free instead?

It took Germany nearly 40 years to recover from its wild spending habits of the late 30s. When will our reckoning happen?

quote:

A spouse? Ok it might be a stretch. But I do know that two do not live as cheaply as one, it's the shared housing, utilities etc which are. As above, cut them.

Lol! Kick the wife to the curb to save on expenses?

Add in property tax adjustment. School bus need the fuel to run all around. Cutting back on fuel is what the Progressives want People will likely respond by canceling auto insurance to pay for fuel and keep on truckin

quote:

You seem to be assuming that everyone here is an extravagant consumerist toy whore who eats out 7 days a week and desires to keep up with the Joneses, who therefore can easily shave piles of unnecessary spending off their budget if they'd only pull their financial head out of their financial ass.

^^^^^^^^^^^
Agreed. I would bet that many members were raised by Depression Era parents and have quite the understanding of pinching pennies to survive.

quote:

Originally posted by 71 TRUCK:

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
Eventually the most financially vulnerable will hurt the most. Sadly, too many of those most vulnerable vote for those who hurt them the most. It doesn't make sense to me.

I have been saying this for years. It makes me shake my head why people do not get it.

In general they're the most financially vulnerable because they've spent a lifetime making bad decisions.

So making a bad decision when they vote is just second nature for them.

quote:

Originally posted by tigereye313:

quote:

A spouse? Ok it might be a stretch. But I do know that two do not live as cheaply as one, it's the shared housing, utilities etc which are. As above, cut them.

Lol! Kick the wife to the curb to save on expenses?

Genius! Why did I not think of that decades ago!?!

quote:

Originally posted by Brother:

Genius! Why did I not think of that decades ago!?!

Good luck with that! Cheaper to keep her.