Effects on Budget

5 years ago I never would have dreamed that gas coming down to $4.35 a gallon would make me happy but it has.  I am just glad to see that prices are finally coming back down (or at least leveling off).  The amount of money I spend on gas has gone up $120 a month and my driving has gone down.

Effects on Quality of Life

Unfortunately I am not the only one suffering from the increase in the cost of gas.  I have had to cut back on what I can buy my kids and how often I take my family out for diner.  We used to go out to eat once a week or so, but I have had to cut it down to once every other week.  The boys no longer get as many or as expensive toys (not necessarily a bad thing).

Effects on Economy

Due to the fact of raising fuel prices transportation (thus shipping) costs have gone up.  Now it costs companies more to get their item to the store they must raise the prices on them to keep their margins in line and their profits on track.  Thus inflation is being directly attributed to the cost of gas right now.

Will Prices Come Down

At least where I live they have started ticking down a little bit.  The price of a barrel of oil has dropped $11 in the past 2 days.  So yes I think it will come down a little bit.  If the Fed were to raise interest rates to 2.25% or even 2.5% at their next meeting I feel that oil will drop to somewhere between $105 & $120 a barrel and this will casue the price of gas to drop back down not quite sure where to but I would be happy with $3.15 to $3.35 and believe it or not I could live with that.