How Will Rising Gas Prices Affect Your Summer?

Gas is on the rise again, and prices in South County are hovering way too close to $4 a gallon. High gas prices can really put a crimp in summer travel, whether it’s to local attractions or to out of state vacation spots.

This week's question for the Moms Council is whether high gas prices are going to affect their summer driving plans.

Emily: The grossly high gas prices will affect our family as it will millions of others in our nation this summer. We will be forced to choose only one major summer activity such as one trip or one sports program activity for our children. Summertime should not be the season to be cooped up, but many families likely will find themselves stuck at home more than they’d like.

Tracy: Having a large family means having a large vehicle—we have a 15-passenger van. Having a large vehicle means having a gas guzzler and we have definitely felt the sting of rising gas prices. It does mean we will not be just "picking up and going" as much this summer as we have been able to do in past summers. Any excursions we have will need to be well planned. The good thing is having such a large van gives us space for others to come along. I have already planned several outings with friends and their kids. We will all go together in our van and share the gas expense.

Michelle: We will do the same traveling as always. I'll try to start to cut back in other ways so the gas won't hit us so hard. We had already decided not to get passes to Six Flags this summer and take advantage of RiverChase more so that's a gas savings right there!

Denise: I hate staying cooped up in the house, especially once school is over. I’m trying to get more organized with my driving so that I make the most of my trips. For example, I’m going to try to plan my shopping list better so I’m not constantly running to the store for something I forgot.

We’ll be making more use of the backyard swing set rather than driving to a playground—besides, I have Wi-Fi and a comfy chair in my backyard! We also happen to live within walking distance of the Malt Shop in Fenton, so I plan on taking several walks with the boys and our dog this summer for burgers or ice cream. It will be good exercise to counter those calories and will make lunch out for a cheeseburger more of an event.

I’m still going to take the boys out for fun stuff around town, but I'll have to limit our excursions to once a week.