$4 Gas Has Arrived In Lubbock—Is $5 Next?

I'm not happy about being right this time.

Just this past Monday, I was talking about how $4 a gallon seemed to be a real "pain point" for drivers around here. It looked like gas stations were doing everything they could to avoid putting that four in front of the price.

As you may have noticed, I'm writing that in the past tense.

Yesterday, I saw gas prices in Lubbock climb above $4 a gallon for the first time. I have to say, that hurts. Unfortunately, I also don't think we're finished.

Lubbock Has Broken Through The $4 Gas Ceiling

The point I was making earlier this week was that once we finally broke through that $4 ceiling, prices could start moving quickly toward the next psychological pain point.

So what is that next number?

Is it $4.50? Or is it $5?

My guess is the latter.

I live near a large convenience store that normally has pretty competitive gas prices. For a while yesterday afternoon, its sign was showing $4.29 a gallon.

The day before, it had been $3.79.

That's a 50-cent jump in roughly a day. That's not an increase. That's a launch.

To its credit, the station came back down a little. This morning, the posted price was $4.09. That's certainly better than $4.29, but we're still talking about a 30-cent increase compared with where things were just a short time ago.

And those numbers add up quickly.

At $4.09 a gallon, filling a 15-gallon tank from empty costs more than $60. A 20-gallon truck tank puts you north of $80.

That's when gas prices stop being something you complain about while you're standing at the pump and start having a real effect on the family budget.

Read More: How Lubbock's Jones Stadium Became Galaxy Stadium

Higher Diesel Prices Hurt Everybody

Then there are the nation's truckers.

I didn't make note of the exact diesel increase I saw, but the prices were comparatively ridiculous. That's especially concerning because those costs don't stay with the trucking companies.

Eventually, they're reflected in the price of just about everything that gets hauled into Lubbock—which is basically everything.

If the trucking industry isn't already in enough of a mess, fuel prices certainly aren't going to help.

The $4 pain point in Lubbock has officially been exceeded.

Now we'll find out just how quickly drivers adjust to seeing that number—and whether the next big psychological barrier is $4.50 or the truly ugly one: $5 a gallon.

Here's hoping we don't get the chance to find out.

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