Gas prices are going down. This means extra change in your pocket is going up.
My Ford Focus has a 12.5 gallon tank. I paid $2.35 when I filled up on Saturday. Gas prices are tumbling below $2 throughout the country and the drop is expected to continue as we approach the holidays.
An extra 35 cents per gallon at 12.4 gallons? Well that’s $4.37 per week that I didn’t have before.
I’m new here. So rather than just run to Starbucks and dump this into a giant iced coffee, I asked my co-workers how I should spend this newfound wealth in Sarasota.
Photo from Abel’s Ice Cream Facebook Page
Maggie Clark: I like a scoop of ice cream from Abel’s Ice Cream on Stickney Point.
Photographers Dan and Rachel enjoy some iced coffee at Pastry Art. Photo by Rachel O’Hara
Rachel O’Hara: A 12 oz. iced coffee at Pastry Art is $1.95 and a 16 oz. is $2.35… so I could get one of each and have 28 oz. of ice coffee for $4.30! Woo hoo!
Photo from Memories Facebook Page
Elizabeth Johnson: $4.37? You can easily get drunk on that at Memories Lounge.
Historically dropping gas prices sparks an increase in “consumer confidence,” meaning people spend more in general because they’re putting less into the pump.
I talked with Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida, and he said the trend post-recession will likely look a little bit different. We won’t see that same surge in spending, because job growth and pay increases are still missing from the recovery.
In short the extra $4.37 in our pockets won’t spur the same kind of spending as a 5 percent raise.
Buy hey, at least now I know I can still have a good night a Memories Lounge. Thanks Elizabeth.
