Being thankful will cost you more this year

You’re going to pay a little more for a lot of things this Thanksgiving.

If you drive anywhere, gas will cost about 20 cents a gallon more than a year ago. Texas prices average $2.68 today.

If you fly, tickets will cost about 4 percent more. On top of that, at some 70 airports, including San Antonio’s, you now face security scanners that see through your clothes or agents who will touch in ways that few people would dare.

Staying home? Cooking a traditional turkey meal will cost 13 percent more in Texas.

Meanwhile, 9.6 percent of U.S. workers are looking for jobs. Experts, revising predictions, now say unemployment will remain higher than thought for years to come.

Yet, Americans seem ready to celebrate, an AAA survey indicates.

About 42.2 million people will make a trip of at least 50 miles this holiday weekend, up 11 percent from a year ago. On average, they’ll travel 816 miles and spend $495, nearly the same as last year. Nine out of 10 will go by car.

“When purse strings and heart strings compete in a tug-of-war, especially at this time of year, the heart wins out,” AAA President Robert Darbelnet said.

And so it has. Some things you can’t put a price on.

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