The Dollar and the Gas Prices: by Susan Duey

One often wonders how today's economy affects the all might dollar. The truth is that most people have a hard decision to make about where to spend the dollar. The gas prices have risen above $4 a gallon leaving many people without other things they need to live. If you have $40 to spend on food, you could by a couple days worth of food, but if you spend that $40 on gas, you are going to get less than ten gallons of gas. If you have a car that gets twenty-two miles to the gallon, more than likely, your gas is not going to last longer than a week.
The economy has been impacted by gas prices as well as grain and wheat costs. If one would go to the bakery for bread and muffins, that same forty dollars would be short about $10 to $15 dollars. The credit crisis is affecting everyone. The average person does not make enough money to buy food, gas and pay bills with the way the economy is today. The price of gas and foods has gone up, but the pay scale has not budged. People are still making the same amount of money they were before all the price increases, which has placed a hardship on many families.
The decision you make about how to spend that $40 will affect the entire family. If you buy two gallons of gas, which will give you roughly 44 miles of driving and buy meals for a family of three for the day, that $40 dollars is gone and it probably was a little short. Frugal living is becoming more common as the prices go up. Going without certain things has become a way of life. Walking instead of driving is more common in smaller communities. Credit card payments and mortgages have to be paid. However, what do you make the family go without to pay the bills and buy food?
The economy needs help. The price of wire has gone up so much that companies cannot afford to make mattresses and sell them for a reasonable price. So now, that dollar has even less value. If you need a mattress, gas and food, you have to sacrifice something in order to have the things that you need to live every day. The value of the dollar does not mean much these days. In order to make the dollar more for its value, the prices of wire, gas and food products has to drop considerably. This probably is not going to happen.
The credit crisis is affecting everyone. Medical coverage is dropping and the cost to the consumer has risen. Today, it is hard for a family of three or four to live comfortable and have the necessities. Until the credit crisis levels off, one will only feel more pressure and see more homes and property lost. Hard times make it hard for hard working people to survive and have the things that they need.