Not Able To Make It to Work Because

[big rockpile]

Was on another Forum.This Guy was talking about a girl at work that couldn't make it in because she can't afford Gas

Well sounds like she has a good Job.He says she don't blow money.But anyway this is what he said:

She only makes around $10 and hour working in the University of Missouri Hospital Immediate Response Lab, and she lives close to thirty miles away

Well my DW is making less and still driving 25 miles one way.

big rockpile

[Karenrbw]

Maybe she is driving one of those gas guzzling monsters. Or maybe she is just looking for an excuse to whine.

[Scrounger]

One time my wife was making some chocolate chip cookies. Too late she found out that she was short on chocolate chips, so she made them anyway. There were a LOT of cookies that were 4" across with only 2 or 3 chips in them. The next day I had some in my lunch at work. I took them in to show the boss and told him I needed a raise because we couldn't even afford chocolate chips for cookies (*sniff*).

I DID get a raise about 3 weeks later. Dunno if the cookies had anything to do with it, though......

[J.T.M.]

One time the Des Moines register ran a story about about this women that was in dire straits.She had 5 kids and the dads were not helping out.Could not buy gas,food, The utilities were being shut off and on and on and on...The picture they used for this puff piece was her sitting in tattoo parlor getting inked while puffing on a Marlboro.{smile}

[Terri]

Originally Posted by rose2005

The thing is....if you have a job, and you know it takes you $$ to get to work every day, you need to put aside the money that you know you are going to need to get to work.

Even if it means eating beans for a week.

BINGO!!!!!!!!!

She gave up $80 because she did not set aside $7. And, her friends apparently know her well enough to not loan her any.

[Peacock]

If she can't afford to buy gas *with* a job, it won't get any easier to buy the gas if she loses the job, will it?

[sgl42]

possible that she's not full time, and they schedule her for only 3-4 hours at a time.

If she had a car/truck that got 15 mpg, then 30 mile => 60 miles round trip = 4 gal gas. at $4/gal that's $16 a day. At $10/hr, the first hour and a half is just to pay for gas. If scheduled for only 4 hours, that's $40-16=24, div 4hrs => effectively $6/hr.

If her car/truck got only 10 mpg, then a 4 hr shift is $40-24=$16, div 4 hrs => effectively $4/hr

Often you see on this forum people calculating how much actual money a SAHM would make if she went back to work, after taxes and expenses. Usually, it's not very much, and hence many decide to remain a SAHM. Today with higher gas prices and flat hourly wages most places, I suspect a few more will decide it's not worth it.

And I suspect a few more regular workers will decide they should try to find a job closer to where they live, or get a more fuel efficient car, or move closer to the job market. Unfortunately, those prior decisions are harder to unravel. There's a flood of used SUV's hitting the market and depressing prices, and new SUV sales have fallen 20%.

So, some people are going to be forced to cut back rather abruptly. However, each time someone cuts their own spending, it means less profits and hence fewer workers for some other part of the economy. A vicious cycle.

--sgl

[J.T.M.]

Originally Posted by edayna

If she can't afford to buy gas *with* a job, it won't get any easier to buy the gas if she loses the job, will it?

.....

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by rose2005

The thing is....if you have a job, and you know it takes you $$ to get to work every day, you need to put aside the money that you know you are going to need to get to work.

Even if it means eating beans for a week.

Seen people whine about this exact thing, with take out pizza boxes overflowing their trash cans....and this was before gas prices jumped up so high.

Rose

Yea most people know how much their vehical takes.I know my DW will tell me some times we don't have the gas for me to go play because she needs it for work.

About the dumbest thing we ever did was decide to make a trip to Colorado,figured how much gas we needed.Had $5 in our pocket to spare so we was good to go.We made it ok but we was very broke when we got there.

big rockpile

[RiverPines]

Are there kids involved and daycare expenses? The job may only be paying for the job with nothing for anything else!!!
Gas, car maintenance, and daycare, etc, could easily eat up a big portion of the checks.
10 bucks an hour isnt much especially since thats gross and not net.

No one here knows this persons life story nor her financial, living, and other aspects of her life.
How can anyone pass judgment on another that they know nothing about?

How far 10 bucks an hour will go also depends on your region.
Some areas, the cost of living makes 10 an hour, poverty level!

[Peacock]

Originally Posted by RiverPines

No one here knows this persons life story nor her financial, living, and other aspects of her life.
How can anyone pass judgment on another that they know nothing about?

Oh PLEASE!

Have you forgotten where you're posting? This is CF! We love to pass judgment here. In fact, that's what most folks are here for!

[RiverPines]

Originally Posted by edayna

Oh PLEASE!

Have you forgotten where you're posting? This is CF! We love to pass judgment here. In fact, that's what most folks are here for!

Oh! Ok then.
Sorry for the interuption.
Just ignore me and please, carry on.

[Barnyard]

hubby told me a few months ago about a young woman who works in his area he works in. she bought a decent midsize car, put word out for a carpool. she arrives at the spot, (its a car pool station on the side of the road), car fills up, everyone pays 20$ a week for round trip, and she not only has her gas paid for, but the car payment and insurance. pretty smart girl.

[bumpus]

.
Remember if a person makes $10.00 an hour they don't get to keep it all, they have to pay taxes, SS, Medicare, maybe a 401K, sometime a little toward 1/2 of the hospitalisation.

Now take what is left over and figure how many hours she looses to just pay for gas to get to and fromework each day which keeps going up about every week.

Pay the rest of your bills with the remains.

Answer stop eating and cut out food allowance,
and you will not have to by gas next month.

bumpus
.

[bumpus]

Originally Posted by Barnyard

hubby told me a few months ago about a young woman who works in his area he works in. she bought a decent midsize car, put word out for a carpool. she arrives at the spot, (its a car pool station on the side of the road), car fills up, everyone pays 20$ a week for round trip, and she not only has her gas paid for, but the car payment and insurance. pretty smart girl.

Thats why you buy a van with as many seats as possible, or a small school bus.

bumpus

[bumpus]

.
dubble post.

[pickapeppa]

Either she'll get a raise to help pay for gas, or an altered work schedule with less trips and longer hours, or she'll get replaced.

Either way, things are going to change for everyone in this boat. It won't be long before it swallows most of the middle class.

[Mutti]

Well,when gas got high DS and I negoiated a weekend-only schedule and now work 36 hrs on weekends and drive 320 round trip for way more money than here in the boonies... actually less miles to drive than working a full time job here. We share the gas cost. More time home on the farm plus we take eggs,honey,flowers, produce to the big city folks who pay us more for it!!!!! Perhaps lots of people will have to change jobs,share rides,etc. to make it. But still, I work with many people making this kind of pay and they are always calling for rides yet they have their nails freshly done, new hairdos weekly and go out to eat every lunch break at fast food resturants. So little sympathy from me. I bring meals from the farm for the weekend, drink water at work and get razzed for it. Ah, but they love to ask about the farm and talk about how they wished they could live in the country.....think people just plain like to complain. I really couldn't afford to work for the measly wages here in the boonies and commute 80 miles 5 days a week either. DEE

[marvella]

in the state of tn, a person has to make 13. 58/ hr to stay off food stamps.

10 bucks an hour is nothing these days.