While gas prices are finally falling again, I would not count on them staying this low forever. Even still, anything over $3 is not very cheap and most people are barely able to afford to fill up their tanks while paying for other bills and necessities. To help combat the steep price of gas, several gas stations are offering some sort of special discount on their gasoline prices.

One of the best programs around is Giant Eagle’s GetGo fuelperks. With every $50 spent in either the grocery store or gas st while using your Giant Eagle Advantage, you earn 10¢ off per gallon which is redeemable at any participating GetGo station. If you have a big family, one trip alone to the grocery store will probably earn you at least 40¢ off per gallon on your next fill up. That would be a savings of approximately $6 on a fill-up with current gas prices in the mid $3.60s in a vehicle with a 15-gallon tank.

Saving a little bit of money on gas is nice, but it is even better when you can get a lot of gas for cheap or even free! Giant Eagle designed the program so that a customer can get up to 30 gallons per transaction with the fuelperks discount, even when you have achieved enough points to get free gas. But here is the dilemma: your car does not hold 30 gallons of gas and the store clerks will not let you fill two cars at the pump because it is against company policies… How do you get all 30 gallons at the discounted price now?? BRING GAS CANS!! You can then take the gas home in government-authorized containers and fill up that second vehicle without the hassel of taking it all the way up to the gas station, just to be told you cannot fill it up at the same time as the other. Also, it saves you from having to fill up that second vehicle at higher gas prices as well.

Getting the full 30 gallons is a great idea even if you have only one vehicle because that is at least 2-3 weeks worth of gas for most people. Why waste your money getting more expensive gas on your next fill-up when you can easily store your next tank of gas in the garage for the time being? Think about it, if you get your gas for free and take all 30 gallons at one shot, that is like getting almost a whole month’s-worth of gas for free! How can you turn that down??

 So, the next time you go to the gas station to redeem your perks, think about how you can save yourself more money in the long-run by purchasing some extra gas in the short term.

For more details on Giant Eagle’s savings program, visit the GetGo Fuelperks website.

Popularity: 56% [?]

The best-selling vehicle in the United States for more than two decades has just lost its crown. With the price of gas around $4 a gallon, many people have gotten away from the gas-hungry vehicles like the Ford F-150, and switched to gas-sippers.

The Honda Civic is now taken over the top spot to become the top seller in the United States. In the month of May, Civic sales increased 33.3%, selling 53,299 units. This dramatic increase in Civic sales is one of the most profound shifts in automotive buying patterns in more than a decade. These record sales clearly demonstrate the trend of moving forward with fuel efficiency being a major concern.

The typical Ford F-150 averages about 15 miles per gallon, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, and a Honda Civic averages 29 mpg. Based on driving 15,000 miles a year and paying $4.08 a gallon, the government says, the F-150 owner will pay around $4,100 in gas for the year, while the Civic owner will only pay $2,100.

Not only is the Honda Civic the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., the Honda Accord has also beat out the Ford F-150 in sales. The Honda Accord is the 4th best-selling vehicle in the United States; Accord sales are now up an astounding 37%. With this growing trend, many dealerships can’t seem to get enough of them from the manufacturer to keep up with demand for the vehicles. Despite this shortage, we currently do have Civics and Accords in stock.

Source: SFgate.com

Popularity: 56% [?]

Don’t worry… you are not the only one getting hit in the pockets by high gas prices. I am a full-time student in the Cleveland area who only works part time at a car dealership. My daily commute to and from school and work is 40 miles round-trip in a car with a 16-gallon tank that only gets 18mpg tops on the highway. At $3.89 per gallon, it costs me about $60 per week just to get to school and work. That is roughly $240 per month, or about one-third of my monthly income spent on gas alone. With the continuous hike in gas prices, I really cannot afford much more than just going to school and work. Being a college student… that is a total bummer!

Thankfully, a friend of mine sent me this link to MSN Auto which lists local gas stations by cheapest to highest gas prices based on your zip code. The site is updated every evening and also includes the high, low, and average gas prices in your town. Check it out, because any little bit saved per gallon really does help your wallet in the long run. A couple other sites that may be useful are GasBuddy.com and New York Times. The site GasBuddy.com is similar to MSN Autos, where you just put in your zip code to find gas stations with the best prices, but also offers a more advanced search options to narrow it down to specific gas providers like BP, Shell, etc. New York Times posted an interactive chart which displays nationwide breakdown of gas prices and their impact on personal income, as well as average gas prices and median incomes.

The government has redesigned the five dollar bill for future use as a gas voucher.

Popularity: 63% [?]