Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - Justin, a local taxi cab driver, was pretty succinct about the prospect of gas prices rising this spring.
"It is going to cost more and allow me to make less money," he said while filling up his tank at a Walden Avenue gas station on Monday.
Fellow area resident Mindy Nowak was a little more philosophical.
"It's a global thing, and we really don't have any choice, really," Nowak said with WBEN.
But then Nowak pinpointed how rising gas prices may impact her life.
"I guess I won't be going to Starbucks all the time," she said.
Taken together, Nowak and Justin serve as snapshots of how the predicted rising gas prices may have an impact on the local economy.
After a gradual decrease in the past year, the cost of a gallon of gas is expected to rise both locally and nationally because of this weekend's U.S. and Israeli bombing of Iran and its oil fields.
While the U.S. doesn't rely on Iran for its gas, other countries do. That's where the economic ripple effect takes hold.
As early as Monday morning, crude oil prices rose 6.2% in the wake of the Iran attacks.
"We may not see a big impact today or tomorrow, but if this is a prolonged war, we will see a deep impact," said Fred Floss, Buffalo State University economics professor. "My guess is next month, we will really start to see the impact."
Rising gas prices comes on top of people already dealing skyrocketing utility costs - making it an economic double whammy.
"It will impact everyone," Floss said.
As of Monday morning, the average gallon of gas was $3.06, according to the AAA of Western and Central New York. One year ago, it was $3.10 a gallon.
GasBuddy predicts the cost of a gallon of gas could increase by $.50 within the next few weeks.
Will that be enough to slow down an already fragile local economy? Floss believes it can.
"People are going to decide what's really important," Floss said.