Did you ever think you think you would see the day a gallon of gas cost more than a pack of cigarettes?

Filling the gas tank on my old Corsica took $60 -- just a year ago it took $40 -- that is $20 more for the same tank of gas!  That $20 would have bought two or thrree days of groceries for me.  Now I don't have that $20 and my groceries are 25% higher than a year ago which takes away the extra I had for clothes.  Nothing to buy clothes with now.  I am finding new things in the back of my closet and wearing them.  This year they will have to do. 

Very little air conditioning -- cutting back to save a few cents;  mowing my own lawn;  not watering the grass; stopped the newspaper delivey; did a way with cable; did a way with my land phone just use my cell phone; when the weather is nice I ride my bike to work;  I eat a lot  of peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches. 

It is helping but I still seem to be broke more now than a year ago even with doing without all these luxuries I had a year ago. 

What has happened?

Gas prices....

It has the worst trickle down effect possible -- almost as if it was all planned.