Gas Prices

Is it just me? Am I the only one who's frustrated by the endless fluctuation of gas prices?

I used to live in a rural environment and found myself having to fill my tank at least once a week, if not more, whether I wanted to or not. Now that I'm living in a more urban setting I can go longer before I have to fill up and I notice that I'm almost obsessed with the price of gasoline. One day I'll notice that the price has dropped a penny or two and I'll look at my fuel gauge and notice that I have a half a tank. So I ask myself, hmmm, should I fill up now or wait a couple days and see if it goes lower? But, what if this is the lowest it gets and I miss this great opportunity? Like most women, I put off filling the tank until I absolutely have to so I just end up taking my chances on the price.

However, a couple of weeks ago I was really getting low and I was on my way to the state park to take my dog for a walk. It's only 4 miles away and I contemplated filling up on the way there or waiting until the return trip. It would have been more convenient to wait because the station would be on the right hand side of the road coming home, but I know how tired I am after my exuberant young Lab has drug me around the sand dunes for 2 and a half miles, so I filled up on the way there. Don't you know, an hour later on the way home, the gas price was posted at 2 cents less!!!! I felt so cheated! I know, I know, we're only talking about 30 cents here, but it's the principle!

On the flip side, two months ago I was driving south to visit my family in Georgia and was looking for a gas station with reasonable prices and I pulled into a Pilot station as they had the best price that I'd seen. I filled up, pulled out again and happened to glance back up at the price sign and couldn't believe my eyes. While I had been filling up, the price had gone up 2 cents. I quickly grabbed my receipt out of my wallet for a second look and was relieved to see that I had been charged at the lower price.

Sometimes I feel like I'm a participant in a surreal reality game show and I can only win by buying gas at the best price within a 72 hour time period. When did gas prices start changing so rapidly? Was it with the advent of the digital price signs? Did the price of gas change less rapidly when someone had to physically go out to the sign and change the prices by hand? Now someone can just sit inside the store and push a button. No big deal.

And what if this rapid price changing trend catches on with other commodities? Will we see digital marquees in front of our supermarkets reflecting an hourly change in the price of sugar and coffee? Don't laugh, I'm afraid it could happen.