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How have the rising gas prices affected my daily life? You mean besides leaving me with less money? Mainly by invading my thoughts. Back when gas was relatively cheaper, the only time I thought about the price was when I had to pay for it. But now, with the price over $4.00 a gallon, I think about the price of gas every time I contemplate leaving my house. And for someone who has always equated having a car with freedom, just thinking about whether or not I should, or really need, to go out is a pretty constricting feeling. Unfortunately, it is necessary. Just getting out because I can has become a luxury I can no longer afford.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I've become a hermit, locked in my home in order to save money. It's just that now, every trip out in the car is planned. And I mean every trip, not just the big trips over long distances. Because for me, it's the small trips that really add up. For instance, Fridays we usually order a pizza for dinner, and it's also the day that I go to the bank, which happens to be near the drug store, which is near the pet store, which is next door to the pizza parlor. When gas was cheaper, I would have gone to the bank in the morning when it was least busy, and picked up a pizza later that evening for dinner. If I needed something from the drug store or something for the dog, I just went out and got it whenever the thought popped into my mind. But now I consolidate my trips. I call in my pizza order, go to the bank, head over to the drug store for whatever has been put on the list during the week, swing by the pet store for food and treats for the dog, and then pick up my pizza all in one trip. Of course, in order for this to work, I have to plan out what I will need from the drug store and pet store for the entire week. That is a big change in itself.

I apply this same practice with my grocery shopping. I only go to the grocery store once a week. This was a little tricky for me in the beginning. I was always the type of person who went to the store every day to get what I needed for dinner that night. Now I plan my meals for each day in advance. I keep extra dry good items in the house at all times; they go on the shopping list when I only have one left, not when I am completely out. And if we run out of something during the week, we just live without it (as long as it isn't milk or toilet paper, this can be done). And to my surprise, this meal planning strategy not only saves me gas money, it saves on the grocery

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