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Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You and I don’t need anyone to tell us it is getting way more expensive to fill our gas tanks. We get that message every time we withdraw the nozzle from the tank and place it back on the pump.

Hello $73.18. BOHICA! (Bend Over Here It Comes Again)

But what you may not have thought about is how that beautiful house in the suburbs, in that safe but distant, tree lined new community may send your life into a tail spin.

There are expenses we can control, like maybe a movie with a friend or lover. But there are expenses which are damn hard for people to change without a radical adjustment to their life.

Rising gas prices make an otherwise long commute to the big house in the suburbs, a bank breaker. Expensive gas increases the cost of goods you buy at the store, food you need to eat, fuel to heat your home and even the cost of electricity.

You’ll notice that the center of many of those expenses is the big home in the suburbs since it is responsible for the cost of commuting, heating and cooling, most likely your biggest fuel bills. So what do we do? Should we move closer in and maybe consider a smaller house to heat and cool? Well that would be the logical thing to do. But people won’t because the home for many is an outward status symbol of there position or station in life. The large home in the “In” neighborhood carry a meaning that money can’t buy.

But who do you want to live for? Is it better to live for the safety of your family and financial security for your future or to maintain a lifestyle to impress others?

So if this approach of moving more towards the town center makes sense, I guess the real question is if you are going to be ahead of the curve or behind. Those that decide to make the move early will most likely be able to get a better value for their house than those that wait till after the apex of the curve has been crossed. Once this relocation movement takes root those that remain at the end will most likely find it damn near impossible to sell their homes since the market will be flooded with available properties out in the suburbs.

“But Steve, homes nearer the town center are more expensive!”

Yes they are, but here is a key difference, isn’t it better to be able to pay a higher mortgage with tax deductible interest rather than a higher gas bill that only gives you motion and exhaust? With a higher mortgage you are getting more bang for your buck than you would with racing fuel in your car.

The folks that are really going to get shafted are the construction workers that often travel long distance commutes to jobs. Not only do they drive less efficient trucks but the far flung jobs will probably earn them less as the job moves ahead, simply because of escalating fuel bills. I seriously doubt construction workers are going to get a gas allowance because gas got expensive.

The race to the suburbs was so attractive in the days of cheap gas and cheap undeveloped land, just a short and traffic free drive away.

It’s the existence we knew, know and grew up with, and that makes it seem reasonable and comfortable. But isn’t it time to consider that just because that is the way it was done in the past does not mean that is the way it must be done in the future? Without moving to downsize expenses, how else are you going to make room in your life for a safe financial future? Earn more?

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