Once again gas prices have increased. Just today the national average price for gasoline increased to $3.11 a gallon. Price increases in gasoline have a lot of people worried about how this is going to affect their monthly budgets and lifestyle. Needless to say, things are getting a little tight for a lot of people. So what can you do lessen the effect of increasing gas prices on your budget? Here are a few tips.

Your first priority should be to find ways to reduce your overall consumption of gasoline. Here are three key points to do this:

Don't Make Unnecessary Trips
Remember the good old Sunday afternoon drive with the family? The ones where you used to put everyone in the car and then drive up the canyon for a few hours? Well, those nice Sunday drives might need to either be cut out completely for awhile or at least decrease in frequency. This goes for any other unnecessary driving, cruising, or whatever else you want to call it. Its also a good idea to plan out when you're going to do standard things like shopping and then stick to that schedule. Personally, I need to make fewer trips to the grocery store during the week and really try to get it all done on one day.

Car Pools and Public Transportation
If at all possible, it's a really good idea to get involved in a carpool at work or find a way to take public transportation. If you were able to get into a carpool with one other person, you reduce your own driving by half. If you find a carpool with three people you reduce it by two thirds and so forth. Carpooling is a great way to decrease your consumption of gasoline. The same goes for taking public transportation. If you took the bus to work, that would decrease your gasoline consumption substantially. Find out which option is best for you and consider it seriously.

Keep Your Car Well Maintained
If carpooling or taking public transportation is not a viable option for you, then at least take the time to make sure that you're getting the most out of your car. Check your tire pressure, get rid of extra weight in the car, keep your car well maintained, and consider using a fuel additive like DurAlt to make sure you're getting the best gas mileage that you possibly can. Every little bit helps!

Don't plan on one day gas boycotts and other emails that have been passed around to make any changes in the prices of gas anytime soon. Instead, take control of your own gas consumption to make a difference. Decreasing your gas consumption is like losing weight, to really be effective you have to make lifestyle changes not just a two week change.

Learn more about this author, Dan Patterson.
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