MCC says ongoing fuel crisis has changed their spending habits – Mesa Legend

The recent spike in fuel prices across the nation has impacted the lives of Arizona commuters amidst conflict between the U.S. and Iran. 

High gas prices have influenced many Arizona residents to make significant changes to their spending habits to find a way to save more money on the fuel needed for their day-to-day lives. 

“I think we’re just allocating our budget differently. I mean, you know, going back a few years, I would say pre-pandemic, I was able to feed my family on $100 a week in groceries, and that’s up to like $300 a week now. So that would be in the last six years. So it’s more than doubled,” said Mesa Community College faculty member Tracey Blocker.

The fuel prices first began to see a dramatic increase throughout the nation when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, spreading tension throughout the Middle East. Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway route between the Omani Musandam Peninsula and Iran where the U.S. imports half a million barrels of oil, which caused the oil supply to drop.

“It’s unsettling of course,” said Blocker on the Iran war, “…it’s very difficult for me to reconcile that we’re spending billions of dollars in a war overseas when we have needs right here in the city of Mesa.” 

The national average of gas prices is $4.39 per gallon as of May 1 according to AAA, with Arizona gas prices hiking up to $4.72 and diesel at $5.80, whereas a year ago, regular fuel was $3.33 per gallon. 

“I have recently been traveling to Los Angeles a decent amount. And I’ve started choosing flying instead of driving just because gas prices are rising,” said MCC student Jack Holdcraft.

Holdcraft explains that the recent surge in fuel prices has caused him to cut back on dining out, think about the distances he is driving and made him pay more attention to what he was spending. 

“I think it affects everyone, even if you do use public transportation, because the cost of groceries will continue to go up if the trucking industry is paying more, travel is going up if the airlines have to pay more in fuel,” stated Blocker. 

“I’ve seen gas prices fluctuate, but I’ve never seen them react so quickly, like within 24 hours,” commented faculty member Blocker. 

The increase in fuel prices has caused some people struggle to remain within their budget, and even those balancing multiple streams of income have found it difficult to fit gas into their budget. 

“I already work technically three jobs and I’m still kind of having to squeeze in the budget and I don’t really have time between school and work to be working more than I already do,” said Hollyn Abraham, a student employee at MCC.