I can remember a time not so long ago, that I would only buy a few dollars worth of gas at a time, because the price was likely to go down in a few days and it would be foolish to fill my tank with more expensive gasoline now rather than wait for a price drop.

Well, prices are headed up and up and, it seems, up. The price of a gallon of regular is up an average of 21 cents and prices are expected to increase through March.

Rising gas prices may make us groan at the pump as we watch the numbers tick off but because the increase happens over a period of time, we may not immediately notice the impact they have on our budget.

But that is the way inflation and rising prices work. Last year’s budget may not reflect your actual expenditures this year. Because we tend to include increases in income – probably because it makes us feel better about spending – and less likely to include small increases that over time take more and more of that income, our budgets can be inaccurate if not kept up to date.

Take time out, say every three months, to go over your projected expenditures and bills and adjust your budget where necessary. Only by having an accurate financial picture today can you plan and save for your future.

The direction of gas prices has everybody guessing and conspiracy theories abound. As gas prices have inched up a few cents this last week, some are using it to fuel their theory that Republicans, most notably George Bush, have used their influence to keep gas prices low before the election but now that elections are over and the Dems have Congress, they have given the nod and prices will creep back up.

Others reckon that gas prices may continue to go down, based on the theory that Democrats are into pushing conservation. They speculate that Democrats will focus on hybrid vehicles, conservation and bringing ethanol in as a contender fuel, which will lower the demand and ease prices on gasoline.

As usual, the consumer watches his fuel gauge and the prices on the sign at the gas station, while the politicians and market experts argue.

In a statement released today that can be accessed at the Federal Reserve Board Website it was announced that the Feds are going to keep interest rates at 5.25%.

The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to keep its target for the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 percent.

Economic growth has slowed over the course of the year, partly reflecting a cooling of the housing market. Going forward, the economy seems likely to expand at a moderate pace.

The FOMC monetary policy faced only one dissenting vote. Voting against was Jeffrey M. Lacker, who preferred an increase of 25 basis points in the federal funds rate target at this meeting.

As expected, the Federal Reserve opted not to raise interest rates hoping to keep inflation down in the flagging economy. The FOMC has announced it will keep its Federal Funds rate target at 5.25 percent.

The statement released today indicated that this was a pause rather than a halt in rate hikes and expressed the opinion that inflation pressures may moderate over time thus implying that rate hikes in the future cannot be ruled out.

The pause by the Fed was not unexpected by investors, although the possibility of future rate increases was disappointing and stocks slipped after the announcement.