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| Saturday, May 17, 2008 |
| MP Dunleavey is realizing high gas prices plus rural location equals expensive! |
MP Dunleavey's latest New York Times article: Places to Go, but Dreading the Fill-Up reports that people who live in her neck of the woods (rural upper New York state) are really feeling the pinch for higher gas prices. Actually, where I live in Delaware County, a rural area overlapping the Catskills that lies about three hours from New York City, the mood is anything but light. We are dependent on our cars here. Most of the county’s 42,000-odd residents are scattered among a few dozen tiny towns and villages, with at least 10 or 15 miles between them.
Until recently, most people thought nothing of zipping 45 minutes down the road to take advantage of better shopping opportunities in the bigger towns. Now those basic routines are stretching people’s budgets. For us to go to the nearest mall costs $16 round trip.
“You don’t just get in the car anymore,” said Laura O’Connor, who works in a kitchen goods store in Margaretville, but lives about 20 miles from there in Andes. “If I have errands to run, I try to make a giant loop and do everything in one day,” she said. “Most of us are carpooling, too.”
But with prices rising so rapidly, the usual ways of economizing aren’t enough to keep gas costs down. In the Catskills, you can’t just switch to mass transit. I know folks who live in rural New England and I can say that yes, gas prices are felt more keenly there. They also have the challenge of higher food prices and low wages. It is difficult to find jobs which pay more to help cope with the higher prices. Living in Boston I have the option of switching to a generic brand or seeking a bargain at a competitors store - up North the store may only carry one brand of a product (smaller stores and limited shelf space) and that store may be the only one in that town.
I have encouraged my rural friends to look into having groceries shipped to them . If you can fill your pantry with staples that arrive at your doorstep - you can cut down the longer trips to the big grocery stores. It might not work for everyone - but if a product you use is on sale and you can get free shipping and the item has a long shelf life - try the delivered option.Labels: MP |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 8:21 AM *
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| 11 Comments: |
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I thought she was a writer? Doesn't she work from home? This woman is like an incredibly arrogant trainwreck. Keep up the coverage--I can't bear to read her without your spin.
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my sister lives in upstate new york and was both shocked and intrigued at my suggestion to car pool to work and to the grocery store. she's since done both, and it seems to be working out...
(and i ditto dogatemyfinances!)
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@Dogatemyfinances,
I can't speak for Dunleavey, but I'm a work-at-home writer and gas prices are still affecting me. My husband works outside of the home, so that's an obvious cost there, but we also travel for more than work. We still have to shop. We order some things online, but for some things the cost of shipping is too much seeing how gas prices affect shipping as well. I was taking a few college classes, but have considered not taking any over the summer in order to save gas (which costs more than the courses themselves even though the college isn't that far away). Then there's the cost of visiting friends and family. We don't do a lot of visiting right now, but I'm not going to stop visiting people I love completely to save money. So in short, working from home helps but cut down on gas, but there are plenty of other expenses and being a writer is usually not a high-paying job.
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But if enough folks buy groceries online, the local store will either raise all prices or close completely. That means groceries will be even farther away to get! And you'll have either higher unemployment and/or fewer people living in the area. Which drives prices up. And more stores close and so on.
Save money elsewhere. Continue to support the local stores or you won't have them anymore.
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Hi AnnMarie,
I was not suggesting that buying online would replace going to local stores. Instead I was saying it could cut down on long trips to the big stores. If you can fill your pantry with the cereals, pastas, can goods, etc. from an online source at discounted prices (and free shipping) then suplement that with local store purchases of milk, eggs, fresh fruit, veggies, etc. you can balance the rising prices.
In my experience, local stores in rural areas have higher prices for items they have to truck in - so a box of cereal can be dollars more expensive in the village store vr. the big supermarket. But if the big supermarket is miles away and it costs a lot in gas just to drive there and back - look into online prices. The village stores in rural areas can have better deals on fresh dairy and produce - since in many cases these items are sourced locally.
So for rural folks in particular, exploring online grocery shopping may be a big cost saver - while at the same time still purchasing at the local village store.
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I am amazed at how MP manages to get published and sell her "stories" to the mainstream media and a financial "expert". She makes so many foolish financial decisions terribly uninformed she should be published as an example of financial train wreck and how not to manage your financial life.
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Why doesn't she shop locally for produce? There should be a Community Supported Agriculture farm nearby. MA and NH have plenty of them that you can join and get local produce and meat. You sign up for a subscription and then pick up the food on a weekly basis. You can find the nearest one at http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ and typing in your zip code. It might be too late for 2008, but definitely something to consider if grocery stores are not close by.
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This gas price increase is expected to become a mainstay of life. It could become, however, a unique opportunity to become more community based and bring retail and commerce back to the towns and smaller cities that once thrived in the 40's, 50's and 60's. We may all be challenged to step away from the highway, malls and shopping frenzy to walk to town and socialize with the town clerks. If this is a stretch there is always a bike with a set of panniers on the back.
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i imagine you would see more scathing remarks if this was a WIR article rather than general "cost of living" article! preach on BG!
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This is exactly why I am and will remain a city/public-transportation-is-an-option-to-me kind of girl...
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I thought she was a writer? Doesn't she work from home? This woman is like an incredibly arrogant trainwreck. Keep up the coverage--I can't bear to read her without your spin.