The more paranoid side of me is looking at the upcoming winter as one of those destabilizing events that shakes a country to the core, but the smug, arrogant side of me looks to the wood shed - already full with 8 cords of 2-year dry oak, hickory and some cherry and another 5 cords of red oak wood drying for winter 2009-10.

Then we look to the bills - no credit card debt at all, no car payments, the only debt bill we have is a mortgage, and that was locked from day 1 at a rate I can afford even if I make 1/4 my salary.

Then I look to our food supplies - not as smug there, but we're not just WILLING to make food from scratch materials, we're GOOD at it.

OK, feeling great....BUT....

We don't live in a town, and there's a LOT to be said for living in a town. A lot. I have this Google Spreadsheet that tells me - in DOLLARS how much it costs to drive to various locations depending on the vehicle I drive.

My commute costs are $10 in gas to the bus stop, and then $28 round-trip bus ticket - per day. I walk in NYC, except when it's REALLY rainy, then I take the subway, that adds $4 a day.
So on a rainy day commute, that's $42 a day. I go in 3 days a week, so, assuming no rainy days, that's $5,586 a year or so in commuting costs, which is eating up about $9,000 of my pre-tax income, since I pay for commuting with post-tax dollars and there's no deduction. If energy costs jump up a little more, it's safe to see that going to $7,000 a year. You need to earn about $12,000 to get home with $7,000, so the question is can I find work more local, at a similar salary, without the huge cost of travel .

When I look to the kinds of jobs in my area that match my highest paying skills sets there are exactly...none.

If I move to the city (which I'd hate to do), my commute costs would drop to almost zero, and my housing costs would rise by about $15,000 a year. At least.

So, yeah, energy costs are going to hit us all, differently.