Some of these people will go all over town to find that great bargain while other people like me will only go to one store for all my items that I need to buy. I really can't afford to spend a lot of money on one thing or even on a couple of items, so I will only go to one place. So, even I'm guilty of shopping at a location out of simple convenience. Large department stores are very convenient and their prices are low, but what effect does it have on the economy of the towns they're located in? If the big new store everyone shops at puts all the small businesses in town out of business, are we really getting that "bargain" we were looking for?

With gas prices being so high, a lot of the bargains (and better quality goods) that you could get at smaller stores might fall by the way side because people just don't have the money or the time to do all that running. My neighbor is one of these people; she works for a company that is showing signs of real rough times. They have her working 10-hour days and most of the time, she isn't getting 40 hours a week. She has to drive almost 40 miles one way to make an average of only $6.55 per hour most of the time. As you can see she is putting almost all of her pay in her gas tank. Her age and their insurance are the main reasons she stays, and her husband can't work because of his health.

This might be another reason why some of these businesses can't keep their doors open anymore. This doesn't have to be clothing stores. It can be any store that sells anything to the public. Another type of store that will try to set price differences will be gas stations. These are the biggest places that will have all different prices and if you go to some other state, you will find that it's the same there. You will find some that will be lower or higher even in your own city. Some may be across town. But does it really make any sense to burn the extra gas driving across town to save a few cents a gallon? It will probably come out to the same amount of money in the end, anyway, right?