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Gas prices are taking a chunk out of our budget but there are ways to cut back on the fuel we use. The days of a Sunday drive in the country are probably gone for good, but, I think they have been gone long before the current price increase for gas. I remember as a young child, that is what you did on a Sunday afternoon unless you were having company at home. I used to love drives to someplace I have never been and, I still do, except now, one needs to make sure they can afford the gas for the trip. Even so, it is still inexpensive entertainment when comparing it to a bunch of tickets to take the family to the movies or the cost of potential purchases if the afternoon is spent at the mall and you still need to buy the gas to get to either place! Buying the gas to drive to a park for a picnic lunch is an inexpensive way to spend some quality time with the family even at today's gas prices.

To save on the price of gas, I have learned a few tricks even before the price went up so much. The best way is to figure out ways to cut down on the amount of times the car is taken out. If you live close enough to the store to walk, why not walk instead of driving? Walking is healthy and think about how much gas you save if you walk rather than drive for amounts of goods you can carry home in a bag or two. Using cloth shopping bags to save on the need for stores to provide plastic bags makes the shopping trip even better and saves on our land fills. You can carry items in a cloth shopping bag much easier for a short distance than carrying the same items in a plastic or paper bag where the handles might tear. I have a friend who lives within six blocks of the grocery store, and, yes, there is a hill to walk up on the way back, but he has a neighbor who DRIVES to the store to buy his cigarettes. He would be much healthier if he walked to and from the store, would save lots of gas when figured over many trips and would be even better off if he gave up the cigarettes alltogether.

Walking is one way to cut down on the use of gas. Combining trips is another. If you plan ahead and take care of several errands in one trip rather than driving out for each individual errand over a few days, you can save lots of gas over a period of time. I live a distance from the grocery store where I usually shop so I plan my trips to the Post office, to the grocery store and to other places along the way in one trip. If I run out of something I need, I go to a local small grocery store which

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