Era Of $4 Gas Forcing Families To Dump Vacation Plans
LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) — Even as gas prices begin to dip from their recent highs of nearly $5 per gallon, they're still taking a big chunk out of the budgets of most American households.
KNX 1070's Pete Demetriou reports on a new poll that shows most drivers are facing financial hardship at the pump.
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A new Associated Press-GfK poll released Friday shows that 71 percent of drivers said rising prices will cause some hardship for them and their families, including 41 percent who called it a "serious" hardship.
Just 29 percent said rising prices are not causing a negative impact on their finances.
For drivers like Theresa, the pain at the pump is altering spending habits and forcing families to delay or cancel big-ticket purchases like vacations and household appliances.
"It takes an impact on all your financials, and you really have to take time and really assess how much you're going to put away for gas," Theresa said.
While those with household incomes under $50,000 were already feeling strained in March, the new poll shows financial pain is increasingly spreading to those with higher incomes. Among those with annual household incomes over $50,000, 63 percent now say rising prices are causing them financial hardship, up from 55 percent in March.
And for older Americans, the burden is even heavier: the number of seniors expressing financial hardship over gas
prices hit 76 percent, up from 68 percent in March.
(TM and © Copyright 2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
