Friday, May 23, 2008

A Tank or a Toilet.


$4.04 a gallon it is here.
Right down the street..

(Picture from our local on line paper.)

How much is gas in your area?
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Due to a comment my grandmother made to my mother the other day.... I did spent a little time with Google and found this......

  • The middle-class and poor stopped buying things with installment credit for fear of loosing their jobs, and not being able to pay the interest. As a result industrial production fell by more than 9% between the market crashes in October and December 192948. As a result jobs were lost, and soon people starting defaulting on their interest payment. Radios and cars bought with installment credit had to be returned. All of the sudden warehouses were piling up with inventory. The thriving industries that had been connected with the automobile and radio industries started falling apart. Without a car people did not need fuel or tires; without a radio people had less need for electricity. On the international scene, the rich had practically stopped lending money to foreign countries. With such tremendous profits to be made in the stock market nobody wanted to make low interest loans. To protect the nation's businesses the U.S. imposed higher trade barriers (Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930). Foreigners stopped buying American products. More jobs were lost, more stores were closed, more banks went under, and more factories closed. Unemployment grew to five million in 1930, and up to thirteen million in 193249. The country spiraled quickly into catastrophe. The Great Depression had begun.

Read the entire article from this link...Here.

Also this..........


With all the money we are pumping into our tanks, we have less money to spend on other items. We are cutting back and buying only the necessities. However because of the cost of gas, the necessities cost more every day. Thus less spending and more cutting, meaning more products stockpiling in warehouses, meaning people getting laid off, meaning less money to spend.

See the downward spiral....not exactly the same as the 20's and 30's but there is a strong similarity.



This is a house blog....and how is this related to the house?


Lets look at the necessities....

  • Is it necessary to have crown moulding installed this summer ? We've been living with out crown in this house for 9 months. And actually this house may have never had crown. There is no evidence of crown anywhere. So it can wait........
  • Is it necessary to buy the sink and toilet for the 1/2 bath. It would be nice, but is it necessary? Well no, there is just the two of us and we've never lived in a house with 2 toilets. Since there has be a "we"-that is.

I am sure most people in the middle of home improvements are looking at ways to save money and limit the spending on the house.

If 50% of the people who were planning on buying a new toilet decide not to, that means there are 50% more toilets stockpiling in warehouses. Meaning production is decreased, meaning people are being laid off. Jobs are being lost in retail and manufacturing.

I guess the real question is what costs more, a toilet or a tank of gas?

17 comments:

Joanne said...

It's hit $4.45 in parts of Chicago.
*Sigh* When I first got my license (1985), it was 95 cents a gallon, and we freaked when it went over a buck.

Jen said...

I use to fill up my '89 Toyota Tercel for $10.

Anonymous said...

I'm from Canada, and if I did my math right it converts to 5.13/gal where I am. It's getting scary isn't it?

I also just wanted to say I absolutely love the look of your craftsman home. I've always dreamed of living in a house with a gorgeous porch like yours. It looks like the perfect sized house.
Gina

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

Gas is even more expensive in Morocco than it is in the US. My husband and I were calculating yesterday that we spend at least $600 on gas a month and often more. It's just crazy.

modernemama said...

Most places $4.10 but in ye olde cute town next door it's $4.36. Gulp. It's almost like being back home.

Jennifer said...

Scary! It hit 3.99 here, and it's usually cheaper here than the rest of the country!

Just an idea... could you freecycle or craigslist a free toilet and sink? I see those a lot for free on those sites...

I'm pretty scared... my job depends on expendable income. We are socking away more than we ever have, and buying less than we ever have. My husband just started grad school, too... a guaranteed pay bump, since he's a teacher, but still a hit..

Marilyn said...

We'd just said today after filling up that it was the most money we'd EVER spent at the pump - $61.00, wow! But some of the reports here are making me glad to see our $3.79.

Sandy said...

Well, it cost us $120 to fill the truck this weekend. It will cost me $40 to fill my Corolla, and that usually lasts me 2 weeks. Today gas is $4.09 (or more, depending what part of MI you are in). When I first started driving, gas was .23 a gallon... of course I only made $1.25 an hour.

Sandy said...

p.s. Thanks for stopping by my spot. So glad you liked the fella and his gals "crossing the road"!

us said...

4:44 for the cheapo grade here...
Scary.

Anonymous said...

I overheard some people talking today about mowing their lawns a lot less this summer...gas mowers...ouch.

We're finally having meaningful conversations about the cost of fuel to get where we need to go versus waiting till we can make more errands for less fuel at a later date. We're bundling our errands/trips to get the most bang for the fuel buck.

Robj98168 said...

LOL You are preaching to the choir!
I know there is a lot that I want to do to my house, and I am battling the need to do with the want to do/is it neccesary?

Anonymous said...

gas is 3.97 in my neck of the woods. ugh. I'm so sick of it.

Why S? said...

This week I found a chair that I really want for my soon-to-be-completed living room. It costs a lot more than I was planning to spend. And I'll need 2 of them. But I really, really want them. And I'll be happy with them for a long time. I'll have to charge them but I've been in debt before, will be again.

I don't need these chairs. But why spend money on other chairs when I know I'll always be thinking of these?

And if we all hold back, if we all give in to the fear and anxiety, then are we not the creators of the self-fulfilling prophecy? Isn't the best thing we can do for our economy is to buy?

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself."

Jen said...

Exactly Why S! The cost of the toilet is much greater in the long run. Even if we really don't have the money for it right now.

Having worked in the furniture industry, I know how bad they are hurting right now. The few furniture manufacturers left with mills/plants in the US have had complete shut downs for weeks at a time. Meaning the hourly employees lost a weeks pay. So for the furniture industry if you "need" the chair and can swing it, they would thank you.

Anonymous said...

I think the operative word here is cost, the effect of one consumer need has affected every day life. There is definitely a need for change, no matter how small.

Great articles, they were a definite eye-opener. Good luck with the house, it's beautiful!

Cathy ~ Tadpoles and Teacups said...

We've been in a reconstruction project for 20 years--one thing leads to another, it seems. Our house is 200 years old and getting older by the minute. ;)
Fun tour here.