Fuel Prices

Read in the paper today that the average price for regular gas on Oahu hit $4 per gallon (or $1.05 per liter).  I know other parts of the world pay WAY more than what Americans pay, but no matter what it is, a significant increase given what it has been will have an impact on people's daily lives.  Americans are very dependent on cars for things that really don't need cars.

I am glad I moved to Honolulu when I did because I don't drive nearly as much as I did in Boston or Atlanta.  In Boston, I was spending about $500 per month on fuel.  My car takes premium, which on Oahu is now $4.19 per gallon near me¹, which means filling up an empty tank on my car is now $60 or so.  If I was doing that in Boston, I'd be broke.

Here, I fill up about every other month because I can walk everywhere.  That really is helping me out on these fuel costs.

I also read in the paper that Hormel posted high earnings, a lot in part due to sales of Spam increasing².  An AP article I read speculates that combined with the drop in pork belly prices (Hormel called this pork input costs in their earnings report...gross) recently, more families are turning to Spam as a way to help the budget because of rising fuel costs.  Bizarre.

¹ Honolulu Gas Prices

² Hormel Foods Second Quarter Results