Consumption Rules

three ways to save money on gas

more ways to save money on gasoline

…both previous posts.
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We’re already seeing $3.00+/gallon gas here. I wonder what effect this will have on real inflation:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — With oil prices setting records over $90 a barrel - and $100 looking ever more likely - experts say there’s a good chance drivers will see $3 gasoline before the end of the year.

“Three dollar gasoline in this market is unavoidable,” said Stephen Schork, publisher of the industry newsletter the Schork Report. “At this rate, we’re going to see $4 a gallon.”

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I have spent a lot of time looking into jobs in different industries, and the more I look, the more I’m convinced that the job market is priced efficiently. In other words, you get what you’re paid for.

For some reason, when comparing jobs, most people focus their attention on one thing: the salary. Higher paying jobs are better than lower paying ones. This is a ridiculous presumption, yet we all make it. We are smarter than that when talking about buying something, but we have a hard time considering the variables–especially risk–when we’re receiving money (wages, investment returns, etc.). Maybe that’s because we spend more of our time and active mental energy as consumers, rather than producers?

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The housing bubble is bursting, interest rates are falling, the stock market is a rollercoaster, oil’s increasing in price. What’s the best financial move?

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From Greg Mankiw:

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It doesn’t get any more generic, and less thoughtful than this email I received from Patty Murray:

Thank you for contacting my office. Your thoughtful comments and concerns regarding freedom of speech in the media are greatly appreciated. I also apologize for the delay in my response.

Representing the state of Washington in the United States Senate is a solemn responsibility, and matters which come before this body must be decided not in haste, but through thoughtful deliberation. I believe that one of the most cherished aspects of this process is the regular exchange of hopes, thoughts, ideas and dreams between elected officials and their constituents. These relationships of participatory democracy make up the best parts and are often the fondest memories of a public servant’s career. Please be assured that I will keep your views in mind.

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I recently heard the comment made that in the past, the breadwinner of a family–usually the husband–was able to make enough money on his own to support a family but today that virtue has been lost to our nation. All 10+ people involved in the discussion agreed, at least outwardly.

In the same discussion another individual made the comment that several of the teachers that he was friends with had said that you can tell who the kids are with stay-at-home moms just based on their behavior (the kids’, not the moms’, although the moms’ behavior of staying home during the day might be a dead giveaway as well), implying that mothers have a special influence on the development (all areas) of their children’s lives, and are better able to share that influence when around the kids more.

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Businesses have little incentive for distributing clearly-written bills. If people know exactly what they’re paying for, they’re less likely to pay it (unless you’re running a value-added business). I guess this is why businesses send the type of bills that they do: so convoluted and confusing that you’re not sure quite what you’re paying for. This gives the business an accounting advantage as well - in large part it relieves them of much of the burden of accurate accounting in their billing. If they decide to audit their own system and find that they have under-billed, they can send out a correction bill, and people won’t know what they’re paying for, but chances are they’ll pay it anyway. I have yet to see a corrected bill that came with an enclosed check for overpayment. I’m sure it happens, I’ve just never seen it.

Scrutinizing a bill, besides being depressing, is actually quite aggravating. The most irritating line on any bill (and almost every bill) is the line-item for “miscellaneous charges.” Miscellaneous charges could be anything ranging from “administrative billing expenses” (or as Ralph Nader explained–a business’s way to charge you for the expense to bill you - a bill for a bill), to financial cushions designed to smooth the statistical risk back into the corporation’s favor. I’ve even seen miscellaneous charges for making automatic ACH payments. (I’m eliminating paperwork, reducing risk and increasing efficiency, and they’re charging me for it?)

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The only person I would hate seeing in the White House more than Giuliani is Hillary Clinton. But the two are the front-runners in the two major parties. Has all hope been lost?

Giuliani seems to be the epitome of separation of private values from public values. I’m all for keeping peoples’ private lives private, but you can’t live with two separate and distinct value sets. How can a man who can’t run his own family run the nation, and even if he could, why would we want him to? How can we be confident he will make wise decisions in the executive office and be a trus