I'm 40 years old. I got my first car in 1978. It was a '67 Plymouth Duster. like most used cars, it broke down a lot. I had the car repaired in the High School auto shop. I always said that the car spent more time at school than I did. At the time, gas was seventy cents a gallon, and $5 would get the tank half full. I remember being able to buy $1 worth of gas and driving for a couple of days.

I just put $10 of gas in my van. If I'm lucky, I can go until the weekend. The last time I filled the van up, I spent almost $40. I once swore I would never own a car that cost that much to fill up. Thanks to 9/11, and the almost immediate spike in gas prices, I now own that car. And while the gas companies are telling us how much gas costs to produthey are posting record profits.

One of the reasons I want to get my bills paid is to be able to buy a new car. I have my eye on a Toyota Prius. All I gotta do is last another year in the van.