<p>Just wondering…</p>
<p>Are US parents with two cars of their own PLUS a car or two for their kids refusing to gas up their kids’ cars these days??? I just paid over $50 to fill my tank yesterday (don’t know what hubby paid) and wonder what parents are doing with their kids’ cars??? Are they making the kids pay themselves or what??? Are they limiting kids’ driving habits??? What are parents doing out there?</p>
<p>my senior in college daughter doesn’t have a car
she purposely selected a college that had good public transportation
I don’t know anyone who is filling up their kids cars for them.
Kids really don’t need cars & if they “do” they can budget for it, just like anyone else :)</p>
<p>my parents pay for my gas because i go home every weekend (i hate my school) and i live in california, where the public transportation sucks and everythign is 5 miles away.</p>
<p>“Kids really don’t need cars”</p>
<p>My son certainly has needed a car this year- even though he is at boarding school. He was driving 90 minutes each way to medical appointments. We paid for the gas and will do so until he is in a position where he can have a part-time job. Most teenagers in our city have cars and everyone is suffering with the increased cost of fuel. Typical teenager wages haven’t risen to keep up with gas prices.</p>
<p>It is amazing. I watch the dials spin and think of the books I could be buying. Darn gas is starting to cost as much as milk these days!!!</p>
<p>exactly, kids need cars. Maybe you live in a state where public transportation is great but in california its just terrible.</p>
<p>I went to a highshool that was 6 miles away from my house and for my first two years i had to take the bus home. It would take aroudn 1 hr 30 mins to 2 hrs to get home… Luckily i played sports and my parents would pick me up after practice during seasons but waiting for the bus was painful.</p>
<p>No tanks for kiddos here to fill!!</p>
<p>We have just one car (Bessie, she has 262,000 miles) for the 6 of us. The five kiddos don’t drive, they can but are not on the insurance so they don’t. Just me the cabbie in disguise. Of course the older ones are away at college and use the public transport and friends when they need something, usually a run to Walmart will just about cover everything.</p>
<p>We live in a small rural town with no public buses so the kiddos still at home walk, ride their bike, in middle son’s case, run, to where they need to get to. They do ride the bus to and from school, always have. There are some in the school who have noted that this year’s val (son) rides the bus.</p>
<p>And yes filling up our tank is an OUCH every week. We have been planning all our trips and errands like a military surgical strike to save as much as possible. Just being really, really careful.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>We do not have this problem either. We also do not have a car for kids.</p>
<p>wow, Kat 262K miles on your car! Now I don’t feel so bad driving my car with 149K.
Son is away at college without a car so I don’t have to worry about filling it up…</p>
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<p>Does anyone’s wages keep up with gas prices?</p>
<p>I know I am really feeling the squeeze as a business owner. Costs are up for all my goods. All my suppliers feel free to tack on $10-15 for every delivery (or garbage pickup). My electricity costs are up; heating costs are up … and guess what … I had to raise prices.</p>
<p>I will probably need to give raises to my <em>full time employees</em> that are really on their own, although I am thinking about gas gift cards once a month. Since I have to pay way more than minimum wage for the teenagers … they get a small raise on their anniversary, and also a small raise when they graduate from high school. When they work on holidays after going to college, they move into the real-live-responsible adult category of compensation (as opposed to the I’ll-work -if-it- doesn’t-conflict-with-my -social -life category of compensation.)</p>
<p>Because I run a retail shop, I have to defend my price increases daily. I’ve decided that it’s my mission to help the customer maintain their pet habit, but not to subsidize their pet habit!</p>
<p>“Most teenagers in our city have cars and everyone is suffering with the increased cost of fuel. Typical teenager wages haven’t risen to keep up with gas prices.”</p>
<p>Minimum wage has simply not risen. It was not a living wage before the rise in gas prices. Many teens earn a couple of bucks more per hour than the minimum wage in our area (ie:7.50/hour as a grocery store clerk). A ridiculous percentage of their earnings would need to go into the gas tank.</p>
<p>My parents have never paid a cent for me to fill up my tank. While this is not particularly favorable from my end, it certainly has made me rethink my driving habits. For example, last summer (when gas was $2.43… and we all thought that was expensive!) I had a great job that paid a couple bucks over minimum wage, but was a 45 minute commute each way. Needless to say, I won’t be returning. I spent $45 a week on gas when it was “cheap.” No way I could afford it now.</p>
<p>No kids’ cars here, either. In fact, D came home for a visit, borrowed the car for a short (about 10 miles) trip, and filled it to the tune of 39 dollars before she returned it.</p>
<p>When I lived in CA, none of the “cool kids” rode the school bus once they were old enuf to drive (or be given a ride by another “cool” friend.). I was just wondering how many of these kids are being told that they now have to ride the bus since gas is too expensive.</p>
<p>My D is re-thinking her unpaid summer intership which would involve driving 200 miles per week. Do you think she should request a gas allowance, since the rest is free labor, and it’s kind of unfair at $4.00 p.g. (July prices) that she is literally paying them to accept her services!!</p>
<p>My sister always had to pay for her own tank. I don’t drive personally. At least here, it’s not a necesity. I ride the school bus. Okay, so I’m one of 5 seniors who do, but you know how much money I’m saving on a 30 minute commute to school everyday? A lot. :p</p>
<p>hmmmm, my parents just informed that once high school ends, i will have to pay for my own gas… but i don’t think they will actually make me do it. they realize how expensive gas is (it takes $45 to fill up my tank on a good day)… so yeah, i don’t know how some people do it…</p>
<p>I’ve never paid for our kids gas. They pay is out of the savings from their summer jobs. At home now is HS senior son who drives himself to and from school every day and also drives his younger brother sometimes to his things. Daughter at college doesn’t have a car at school. We bought the car (used, from Grandparents) and pay for the insurance. That’s enough.</p>
<p>I work as a grocery store clerk to pay my gas and other expenses. I’m only making minimum wage…here in California a gallon of gas is $3.25 for the regular stuff…it’s eating through my paychecks every week.</p>
<p>$5. Get a cow knockedup once-a-year, some grass, and you have a renewable resource. Give the resulting product to someone with lactose intolerance and use that product to fuel your car. That’s why milk IS cheaper than gasoline.</p>