Speak Out!

Major Changes? $10 a gallon. Otherwise it's just gas.

Gas prices are already too high. We are at the point where we are already making major changes to our lifestyles. I am fortunate enough to teach at a school that is literally 1.5 miles away from my home, and go to a church that is only 7 minutes away from my home, and everything else that I need to do, I try to make sure that I stay within a 10 mile radius of home for the most part. We are having to decide how many groceries to buy based on how much gas we need. To make matters worse in my case, two weeks ago my husband lost his job. He suffered a stroke almost a year ago on July 9th, and was off work for about a month after being in the hospital for a week. Upon returning to work he had to take off a couple of times per month to go back to the doctor for follow up visits, and he always provided doctors statements. Well two weeks ago he was fired because of his attendance over the past year. With that news he now has no more insurance and he needs medication. I can add him to my insurance, but that is going to cost us about $400 per month, and with the cost of gas and food as well as other living expenses, it is going to be a real struggle to balance everything financially.

To make matters worse we are also dealing with this massive flooding situation here in Missouri, which is ultimately going to cause food and gas prices to go even higher. I have gone so far as to see if we could qualify for food stamps since my husband is no longer employed, but for a family of six, my income is still too much for us to qualify. This goes to show that as prices continue to rise, income levels seem to be at a standstill. Our wages are definitely not increasing with the cost of living and this is certainly causing us to stay home more, eat out less and cut back on things that we take for granted such as cable, going to the dry cleaners, the movies, etc.

The hardest part about all of this is making the kids understand. We have three children ages 7, 8, & 9, plus a teenage cousin who is in our care, and we have had to cut back on some of their activities as well. For example, I would like for the boys to have played baseball this summer and for my daughter to have participated in track or cheerleading, but that would have cost us about $150 per child plus the cost of uniforms. There is no way that we can afford that. They also want to play basketball, but again that is $120 per child. I truly believe that it is important for kids to be involved in these type of activities, but unfortunately with the cost of everyday living expenses, we just don't have the extra money in our budgets for these activities and there are not any free programs around in the community or in the schools. Kids can't understand that and they should not have to.