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[RC] The Price of Gas - Bruce WearyI truly respect everyone's concern over the costs involved in participating in our wonderful sport. But I think we may be looking in the wrong place and blaming the wrong problems for the increased pinch we feel in our pocketbooks on the way to basecamp. Gasoline is probably the single most monitored item in terms of price of any good or service we as Americans purchase. At times, gasoline is a necessity, and at other times, it is a luxury item that fuels our recreational pursuits. Since it is the same money in our budgets that buys gas as the money that buys our milk or pays our rent, it seems to me that our total, overall budgets will determine whether we can, or should, participate in endurance riding, not just the price of a gallon of gas.Consider the following items that we may purchase, ALL of which drain our pocketbooks to one degree or another, and let's ask ourselves which ones we could go without that, when added up, would more than make up for the price of our recreational fuel: Manicure/pedicure, movie rentals, alcoholic beverages, dining out, multiple saddles, multiple horses, multiple trailers, barns, vacations, gambling, lottery tickets, junk food, jewelry, expensive toys, Disneyland, golf, cosmetic surgeries, car washes, big screen TVs, tattoos, season tickets, and the list goes on and on. We all have luxuries that in our minds have become necessities, so when an item like gas goes up in price, we feel the pinch because we would prefer to have our cake and eat it, too. Two answers are to go without some other luxury, or find a way to make more money in the wealthiest country in the world. I read somewhere that the time in American history when the most millionaires per capita were created................was during the Great Depression. Dr Q, off to break my piggy bank =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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