Wednesday, May 7, 2008

My head hurts

King Daddy took a cold shower yesterday. We were out of oil. He called our oil company and they delivered 100 gallons. He wrote a check for $419.

I would like some advice and/or comments on how it is that we (the we at large not only my family) are supposed to live? How are we supposed to go about our daily lives, put gas in our cars, heat our homes and make sure that we have hot water? How?

My income has not gone up as fast as oil prices and it will never increase that much at the standard 3% increase annually. King Daddy is a teacher and bound by the union. His increases are even smaller as his salary caps out.

Since I went back to work in August of 2007 gas prices have increased by 47%. We were in a price guarantee with our oil company until May 1st of $2.82/gal. The price currently at our oil company is $3.94/gal, an increase of 28%.

I know this issue affects everyone, so what are we to do? My plans for redoing the porch and adding more fabulous landscaping are cancelled. We now must asses our home's insulation needs, research a wood pellet stove and perhaps new windows for upstairs.

We will not be able to afford to heat our home with oil prices at $3.94/gal. Our oil tank has a capacity of 250 gallons+/-, in order to heat our home to 63 degrees in the coldest months, it would cost my family approximately $985 every 6 weeks. Something we simply cannot afford.

Are we now officially part of the Working Poor?

9 comments:

Karen said...

I was just thinking yesterday how much money we could save if we didn't have a vehicle. The gas alone is astronomical. But living 10 miles from town maks that impossible.

Misty said...

Although we don't use oil, I've wondered this aloud as well... It seems everything, from the cost of a gallon of milk or loaf of bread- to the cost of utilities, is on the rise with no plateau in sight...

scargosun said...

I think you should send this letter to your local newspaper and also your state and federal representatives. You have said what we are all feeling extrememly well. We use natural gas but we do have cars that we use to get us to work PLUS the prices for everythign else are going up becuase of the cost to deliver them to the stores. It's a vicious circle. BLAH!

Betsy, short for Elizabeth, formally known as Esther said...

Scargosun,
Done! I just sent this exact post to my Congresswoman.

Betsy, short for Elizabeth, formally known as Esther said...

Scargosun,
I just sent it to a local talk radio station, the editor of my local newspaper and the Governor of Massachusetts. Thanks for the suggestion!

Lindsay said...

My eyes just popped out of my head reading that. It really puts perspective on how the economy hurts the everyman. I applaud you for being so proactive about getting something done about it, too. I hope that your efforts spell change.

I'll be praying for you!

scargosun said...

Yea! You ROCK! You are making a difference and I applaud you for it. Thank you!

Sorry about all the misspellings and stuff, I was angry and trying to type fast. :)

Muffy Willowbrook said...

Go after 'em, Queen!!!

for the record, Scargosun is probably one of the smartest chicks I've read!

Deb said...

I'm with you - I wish I knew. Everything is going up so much, and salaries just aren't keeping up. I'm so tired of being stressed out about money, but there's no end in sight... :(

Good for you for sending that to the politicians!