Money Randomness

I paid $3.63 per gallon for gasoline tonight, up another four cents since Sunday.

$5 is a trendy price for lunch food. I’ve had many “5 dollar foot-longs” at Subway and tonight I saw an ad for a $5 lunch special at KFC.

I paid $10.50 EACH for a glass of wine tonight. I often buy entire bottles for that price. My first time at that restaurant/bar; possibly my last.

A recent Toby Keith’s song includes the line “I put a dollar in the jukebox and played that girl a tune.” I could download that song for a dollar! Remember when a song in a jukebox cost 25 cents? Remember when it was even less?

I worked in the hotel business one year, just long enough to know first-hand that room pricing is all about supply, demand, expectation, location and timing. Two hotels I regularly use on southern road trips (I’ve stayed in each six or seven times) have cost me as little as $74/night and as much as $115/night for exactly the same class of room.

The hotel next door to work has charged me as little as $49/night and as much as $125/night. Their regular rate is between $159 and $189 and sometimes they get more.

My last three cell phones were FREE with a 2-year contract renewal. There are several available at no cost for my next renewal but I am about to order one for $100. I’m told that is actually a low price for a smart phone. The phone may be smart but am I?