Gas prices up, paychecks getting smaller
You are paying more at the pump these days, and there is less money in your paychecks. The economic growth that has been touted by Washington may not be as robust as they want you to think.
Let's start with gas prices. We have seen higher prices at the pump for 34 straight days. The average price for a gallon of gas in Houston this morning is $3.63. Gregg Laskoski of Gas Buddy explains what's going on.
“We’re seeing a lot of things happening at the wrong time. Refineries are between a rock and a hard place right now,” Laskoski said.
Laskoski sees the prices continuing to rise through April. And he doesn’t see them falling down any time soon.
“We’re probably going to see this increase for the next several weeks. We’ll probably see it peak nationwide in April,” Laskoski explained.
Combine higher gas prices with more taxes being taken out of our checks, and Houston financial planner Richard Rosso says the economy could take a step back.
“The more consumers are hit, the more they retrench, pay down debt and the less they spend on the fun stuff,” Rosso said.
And then there's the looming sequester, which Rosso says could cause big job losses unless a deal is reached.
“If everything goes through with the sequester you will see an increase in unemployment numbers,” Rosso stated.
