Despite gasoline prices at an all-time high, a study found that Americans are still planning to travel and take vacations this summer.
According to AAA, a new study shows that nearly half of respondents plan to travel by car or truck in the next six months.
With gas prices hovering around $5 a gallon, this represents an increase of almost 60% in fuel prices compared to the same time last year.
According According to a recent Washington Post article, the increase in the number of drivers on US roads could also further increase gasoline prices due to supply and demand.
Sherrill Mulkearns posted on Facebook that gas prices would not deter her and her family from travelling.
“We’re heading to a family wedding in West Virginia next weekend, then we’ll be heading to Cleveland to take care of the grandkids while their parents attend a conference in Europe,” Mulkearns said. “Neither is negotiable – you have to go to both.”
For Robin Jennings, she was forced to cancel her birthday trip. “We’re just planning on staying home in our pool.” Jennings said on social media.
In an article on Business Wire, a Location data company Arrivalist said 37.9 million Americans traveled by automobile over Memorial Day weekend.
This volume is slightly above Memorial Day 2019 and 2021 traffic levels. Overall, U.S. road travel in 2022 is 8.5% above 2021 volume.
According to AAA, the current highest US average for gas is in California, where an average gallon of regular fuel costs $6.06. The cheapest is in Oklahoma, which averages just over $4 a gallon.
Arleta Hicks also posted on social media that rising fuel prices caused her to change her plans to visit her family. “I would love to travel a bit and visit my daughter who lives about 2 1/2 hours from my house,” Hicks said. “However, I am an elderly person on a strict budget. Not only gas prices, but inflation on all other goods, will keep me home longer than normal.
Eddie Dickerson said ‘how’ people will be able to afford rising gas prices is the real story.
“Let’s tell the story of what happens when everyone maxes out their credit card for gas just to get to the store… It’s a bigger story, bigger issue than why. ” said Dickerson.
You’re not alone if you’re one of the millions of Americans who use credit cards and, in some cases, max them out to make ends meet.
The latest consumer debt data from the Federal Reserve Bank shows that total consumer credit card balances have been growing every year.
According to data from credit reporting firm Equifax, Americans opened a record 11.5 million credit card accounts in the first two months of 2022 alone.
Credit limits on these new cards total $55.5 billion, up nearly 60% from the year-ago period.