Who Gains From Your Pain?

This past year has been met with several changes in the marketplace, which affect the price of gas, food, energy, travel, and so on. It's gotten to the point where people have taken "staycations" this year, a new term to describe forgoing a proper vacation to stay at home and do local activities.

I personally think many of these changes are positive, like frequenting farmers' markets and driving less, but many people aren't happy about the increased cost of just about everything. (Why everything? Well, because it seems like everything is somehow connected to oil.)

But not everyone's complaining. On the contrary, there's much to be gained from your pain: money. This morning, Exxon Mobile posted their second quarter earnings. They made $11.68 billion this quarter - that's the most amount of profit ever reported in US history. Impressive, right? Well, this $$$ figure was lower than investors expected (I know, get the kleenex out and shed a tear!). But who knows? Maybe this year they'll beat last year's annual profit of $40 billion. That's something to look forward to.

Reading this news makes me grateful for riding my bike. I haven't bought any gas since May, which has saved me some much needed cash. And perhaps this goes without saying, but biking doesn't pollute and it's good for the body. You just have to be careful. And that goes for drivers, too!!!