On November 2nd, I paid $2.39 for unleaded.

By November 19th, it had dropped by thirty-five cents, to $2.04.

The next day, on the 20th, when I saw it was down under two dollars a gallon, I just had to stop and fill up my tank in celebration.

For a while there, I was having to budget $638.00 just for my drive to work, and church on Sunday and Wednesday night.

At $1.99/gallon, my monthly budget for gasoline has mercifully dropped to $317.00 a month. It is certainly helping us out a lot during this meager time for Mr. A's business. We are still working behind the scenes, advertising in the paper, and we just signed a contract to put the company names into the big yellow book that comes out yearly. I also found out since we are trying to get business in a smaller area, our costs are about 1/3 of what they would be if we were advertising in the big city. For example, the three-quarter inch ad is $19.65 and the line ad runs $11.00. My sister, who lives in the big city and cleans houses for a living would have to pay $30 for a line ad. Those are per month costs.

I hear that the low cost of gas has a direct correlation on our failing economy, but I can't help but be happy because it is making our financial life much more manageable currently.

On to why I like QT (Quik Trip):

1. They actually put detergent in the window washing fluid in our city. I talked with one of the gals that was refilling the container, she said in some cities they don't have to, but because we are in a rural area we have a lot more bugs and bees to smash on the windows, and plain water doesn't do a thing.
2. They plan their gas stations so there is room for three cars wide in between pumps. Meaning if you need to leave and the guy in front of you is not leaving yet, and there is someone waiting behind you, you aren't stuck. You can just use that middle space to leave the station. The Love's in our area are notorious for having just enough room for two cars. And their stations are always packed, and people don't always pull in the “right” way, whatever that is. Suffice it to say QT does it right when it comes to leaving enough room for their customers.
3. The cashiers are friendly and helpful and open a new cash register if there is more than two people in line.
4. They have this delicious vanilla flavoring that I occasionally splurge on. I get a 22 ounce Dr. Pepper and put about 1 ounce of this flavoring in there. I don't drink soda regularly, and this hits the spot sometimes.
5. They always have the best price gas in town.