Save your pennies, higher gas prices coming soon...

[ZacFields]

Crude oil ended at $89.47 today, and again that's an all time record for the price of crude.

Adjusted for inflation, we are now about $5/barrell short of oil being at the same price it was during the gas crisis back in the 80's. We've been lucky so far... I think back when Katrina hit and gas prices were like $3.00/gallon or more the price of a barrell of crude was still only like $45-$50/barrell. So far gas prices haven't been following the rise of crude, but given the last week's surge which brought us from about $80/barrell to almost $90/barrell, you can bet gas prices will follow unless we start to see a decline in consumption real soon.

My whole take on it: Bring on the high gas prices. Its amazing to me that as a person I've been able to cut my gas consumption by at least 30% (includes automotive and natural gas and electricity) as compared to where it was last year, but yet there's way too many people who don't give a fuck about it to even make a dent in consumption/demand.

Well, I can afford for gas to get plenty more expensive. I don't want to have to pay it, but I certainly can afford it, and if that's what it will take to get a few more people to realize the problem then that's what we need. If there's anything to be learned about the mortgage meltdown of 2007/2008 it is that it takes a national crisis to teach the majority of Americans anything.

That's my rant of the quarter :) Have at it haters.

Zac

[ZEE]

I'm one that don't give a fuck. It costs what it costs.

[ZacFields]

Honestly I don't care what gas prices are... I'm on the same boat as you, but I do care a lot about what it does to our economy. Gas prices are much farther-reaching than just what you have to pay to fill your tank. Even though I'm 100% positive we would see amazing drops in gas consumption if gas were to reach, say, $5.00 per gallon, because a lot of people who don't care now would definitely care if we saw a 100% price increase in gas.

Gas is a huge factor in how our stock market operates. People get worried about a gas crisis, and they tend to hold on to their money a little more rather than invest it or spend it on other things. Businesses that are major users of gasoline (trucking companies, shipping companies, airlines, US Mail, etc) suffer when gas prices are ridiculously high.

So in short, I'm more worried about my investments, my 401k, etc suffering because people don't care. LIke I said I've lowered my gas consumption and I did it with style, I might add. Bought a motorcycle that gets 45-50mpg and quit driving my car in the summer when I didn't need it.

I'm sure the cost of crude will go down. Economists are already saying it shouldn't be any more than $40 or $50 per barrel right now anyways, and that anything over that is just speculation. But I don't want it to go down. Bring on $4.00 a gallon. Sure, there are families out there who are barely scraping by but I can afford it so who cares, right? (sarcasm, of course)

Zac

[Domestic Disturbance]

i have too much of a lead foot for this not to scare me.... f'n a cotton

[Ricky]

"this is a bold strategy, lets see if it pays off."

I dont want higher gas prices, but the price of gas wont stop me from driving to were i need to go so i dont really have any room to bitch about it. Sure i dont drive as much anymore but that could be due to me not having any time and dont feel like driving around for hours on end and getting no where. basically if it goes up then it goes up and i cant do anything about it so i buy it and grit my teeth and move on.

[slobalt]

I guess I shuuldn't have moved so far away from the job. Even though its the same distance I used to drive in Texas. Gas is more expensive here in Iowa than Texas. My consumption has gone down since I no longer sit and wait in traffic for 2 hours a day.

As far as effecting the market, its the main reason I invested in alteranative energy this past year. When gas prices didn't return to pre-Katrina levels and oil companies were having record sales I started researching some of these companies. Then with the last election where Democrats gained a little control it kinda put me over the top to buy.

[Ricky]

only .5% of our energy is being produced by wind power. when need to get it to about 10 or 15% and that would help a lot! but GW wont sign the things he needs to so we can start putting these up and start producing wind energy. we will never run out of wind and i know of one companee that has a wind generator that produces 2.5 kilowatt hours. that enough to power 600 average homes.

[ZacFields]

When I was 18 and I first got into the market I was investing in alternative energy. In fact, alternative energy stocks were actually the main reason that I got into the market in the first place. I haven't been involved in it for a while (still recovering from buying this condo and furniture, etc) but maybe I should go back to my roots when I get back in here in a few months :) I first invested in a solar power company... DSTI was the one. Got into it in late 2004 shortly after the company went public. I only had like $500 in it, but that money tripled within a year. Went from $3-$4/share up to $15 something per share, then I think I sold it around $12 per share. Next to PFCE (the hydrogen penny stock that gained me 300% in like 3 months) that was the best stock I ever bought. Funny though PFCE went in and out of bankruptcy about 6 months after I sold it off....convinced me never to deal in penny stocks again though :)

I agree with you Eric about wind power. As much farmland as Iowa has, you'de think we would have a lot more wind-farms. I mean... I can almost guarantee a farmer could make way more money with those than corn anyways, and it would make the cost of energy in the midwest a lot cheaper. Plus its always frickin windy here.

Zac

[slobalt]

Penny stocks, the bigger the risk the bigger the payoff, and the bigger the loss. I won't deal with those either. Market cap >1B good EPS in their group and a dividend if possible are what I look for, these won't get you big money fast, less risk smaller payoff.

My favorite purchase was because of all this oil stuff, BPT was purchased in 03. Not quite an oil stock but an oil trust. Spent 500, at 19.69, sold half at 88 last year. Over the years the dividend has paid me over 500, the sale grossed over 1000 and I stll have 13 shares worth 1000. Not quite the get rich quick a penny stock might get ya but I don't mind taking it slow. :bigthumb:

[ZacFields]

I was young and stupid back then. Funny thing is that I actually did my research on that PCFE stock though. I printed out their 20+ page financial reports that quarter and read them from start to finish. They were nearing the end of their "research" stage and were turning the corner of finishing their research when I read the financial statements. I put $2,000 in it at about 12 cents a share, and a few weeks later they announced that they had completed their research and that they were searching for a manufacturer. The stock in the entire time I owned it had a range of 12 cents to 63 cents per share, all in a matter of 3 months total. I rode it too long though and sold it around 45 cents a share though. I was trying to hold out until they found a manufacturer, but unfortunately that day didn't come soon enough so I got out. Luckily I did because like I said about 6 months later they went bankrupt and are back on the market again now.

Penny stocks are alright if you're a kid with nothing to lose... but I've got a little more to lose now. Not living with my mom and dad anymore. lol.

Zac

[ZEE]

Go to northern Iowa. There are several large wind farms in northern Iowa. We've built the power lines for them. More will be going up next year. Wind farms are pretty popular right now because of the heavy tax incentives the government shell out for renewable energy. The bill that subsidizes these was allowed to expire a few years ago so for a year nobody built them. The bill was reenacted at the beginning of this year I think. They've been going up regularly a crossed the country. Just the company I work for has built them in Colorado,Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont and the largest ones done in Northern Iowa. So as long as the government subsidies them due to the large cost and unreliability of wind energy they will be built. Government stops the subsidies they don't get built. They just aren't cost effective.

[ZacFields]

I was doing some reading at work today about solar and wind energy. Honestly I think that's the way to go. I read about one person who paid about $37,000 to have solar panels installed on his house, then he received something like $8 or $9 thousand from the government to help with the cost. His electricity cost went from $80/month (I forgot to mention he already had built an extremely energy efficient home, so his costs were already pretty low) down to about $20/month.

As far as renewable energy goes, people spend too much time worrying about how long it will take to pay for itself. If you're 35 years old and you happen to have the money to install solar panels on your home, but you know it will take 40 years for the savings to pay for the cost of installing the solar panels, then you probably won't put them in. People gotta remember that when you're taking 75-85% off of your electricity bill, your quality of life is also better. You don't have to be so stingy with the thermostat, you don't have to obsess over turning lights and electronics off when they're not in use. That's worth something too.

That's like the timeless debate of hybrid cars. They save you money on gas, but can cost upwards of 3 grand to replace all the batteries when it comes time, not to mention the increased cost of the vehicle itself. But people forget that once you spend the money to purchase the car, that money's gone...just forget about it and enjoy the fact that you're getting 55 miles per gallon and you only have to fill up your tank once a month. Maybe technically you're not really saving any money, but it feels nice to be able to do all the driving you want and not costing you much for gas.

I'd install solar panels on my house if I had the cash to do it. If I didn't live here forever, I could just recoup the installation costs with the increase in home value when I sell the place, in which case (in theory) the solar panels pay for themselves instantly with increased home value.

Wow that was a completely random rant. I'm tired...hope that made sense to somebody.

Zac

[69gt4speed]

The problem with barrel $ is it affects everything. Been to the food store lately? Or these ppl w fuel oil heat? Etc. etc. just won't be gasoline prices. Even beer will go up.... I hope I'm wrong but just going on what was before...

[DustinsDuster]

Even beer will go up...


NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[69gt4speed]

When beer went up, they started selling generic beer, white can black letters, watery IMO. A guy i knew was making beer sculpture... So we had various beer to complete his task.

[DustinsDuster]

When beer went up, they started selling generic beer, white can black letters, watery IMO. A guy i knew was making beer sculpture... So we had various beer to complete his task.

looks like im gonna have to start home brewing; or, easier, just drink hard liqour...

[TbTalon94]

just drink hard liqour...

BINGO!!

[ZacFields]

^ Thats how I roll.

A bottle of Jack or Captain can get me drunk time and time again. I'm not a heavy drinker, but for about $20 for both of those I can be satisfied for about a month.

And yeah Rob is definitely right. High gas prices leak all over the place. For instance, a trucking company that carries loads of corn from the farms to the factories is paying double for gas now than they were 5 years ago....so therefore their rates have probably significantly increased, and thus the chain of events gets set in place that causes the consumer to see more expensive product.

Zac

[Ricky]

Mt. Dew went up 38 cents! FUCK!

[TbTalon94]

are you serious?

[Ricky]

something like that. im buying some today so i will know for sure.