MONROE - "Wait, $25? Shouldn't that say $50?"
Wisconsin and Illinois drivers are still getting used to gas prices since they've dropped below $2 per gallon.
As of Monday, gas stations in Monroe were selling gas at $1.97 per gallon, slightly below the price of some northern Illinois gas stations at $1.98. Prices have been falling in recent months, thanks in part to crude oil supply growth and weaker global demands for oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
A few Illinois residents came to Monroe Monday for shopping and to visit family - all with a little extra money in their pockets thanks to cheaper gas.
Christine Birkholz, Galena, was window shopping around the Square, and she said she likely wouldn't have come to Monroe if gas wasn't so cheap.
"It's nice to come up and not worry about cost," Birkholz said. "It makes my 20-minute commute to work feel a lot nicer, too."
Dick Petrizzr, south of Rockford, was filling up at the Stop-N-Go on 9th Street, and he said he hopes gas prices stay low so the economy can get a boost from people spending more money outside of the awning of a gas station.
"I hope this makes it easier for our workers to have some spending cash and help bring back the economy," Petrizzr said.
Some Monroe residents are wary to accept that projections for gas prices will stay below $2.65 for 2015, but some were optimistic. Gasbuddy.com predicts that gas will peak at $3.14 per gallon in 2015, but on average will stay below $2.65.
Robert Hoesly, Monroe, was at the Monroe Public Library planning for a trip down to Freeport and then Memphis, Tenn., in part because of the cheaper gas.
"I don't think it will stay this low," Hoesly said. "But we will sneak out for a few weeks and try to come out ahead."
Hoesly said he sold his RV a couple of years ago, partly because it was so costly to fill it up, but it was also getting old.
"We traveled across most of the U.S. and Canada in that old thing," he said.
Bob Beinema, Richard Tranel and Dale Knauer were settling down to play a game of euchre at the Behring Senior Center and said that none of them drive more than 5,000 miles a year, but they didn't mind a little extra cash.
"That's extra money for a steak," Knauer said. "I think gas prices are down so low now because the Russian ruble is in trouble and their economy is in the pits, so they are using less gas."
The U.S. EIA website reports crude oil has dropped to $55 per barrel, down by almost $40 per barrel from last year's $93. The EIA also expects global oil supply to grow throughout 2015, keeping gas prices down.
According to AAA on Monday, the Janesville-Beloit area has gas at $1.91 per gallon and Madison is at $1.94.
Wisconsin and Illinois drivers are still getting used to gas prices since they've dropped below $2 per gallon.
As of Monday, gas stations in Monroe were selling gas at $1.97 per gallon, slightly below the price of some northern Illinois gas stations at $1.98. Prices have been falling in recent months, thanks in part to crude oil supply growth and weaker global demands for oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
A few Illinois residents came to Monroe Monday for shopping and to visit family - all with a little extra money in their pockets thanks to cheaper gas.
Christine Birkholz, Galena, was window shopping around the Square, and she said she likely wouldn't have come to Monroe if gas wasn't so cheap.
"It's nice to come up and not worry about cost," Birkholz said. "It makes my 20-minute commute to work feel a lot nicer, too."
Dick Petrizzr, south of Rockford, was filling up at the Stop-N-Go on 9th Street, and he said he hopes gas prices stay low so the economy can get a boost from people spending more money outside of the awning of a gas station.
"I hope this makes it easier for our workers to have some spending cash and help bring back the economy," Petrizzr said.
Some Monroe residents are wary to accept that projections for gas prices will stay below $2.65 for 2015, but some were optimistic. Gasbuddy.com predicts that gas will peak at $3.14 per gallon in 2015, but on average will stay below $2.65.
Robert Hoesly, Monroe, was at the Monroe Public Library planning for a trip down to Freeport and then Memphis, Tenn., in part because of the cheaper gas.
"I don't think it will stay this low," Hoesly said. "But we will sneak out for a few weeks and try to come out ahead."
Hoesly said he sold his RV a couple of years ago, partly because it was so costly to fill it up, but it was also getting old.
"We traveled across most of the U.S. and Canada in that old thing," he said.
Bob Beinema, Richard Tranel and Dale Knauer were settling down to play a game of euchre at the Behring Senior Center and said that none of them drive more than 5,000 miles a year, but they didn't mind a little extra cash.
"That's extra money for a steak," Knauer said. "I think gas prices are down so low now because the Russian ruble is in trouble and their economy is in the pits, so they are using less gas."
The U.S. EIA website reports crude oil has dropped to $55 per barrel, down by almost $40 per barrel from last year's $93. The EIA also expects global oil supply to grow throughout 2015, keeping gas prices down.
According to AAA on Monday, the Janesville-Beloit area has gas at $1.91 per gallon and Madison is at $1.94.