Your car is a few years old and you are dreaming about a new vehicle... 

If you're considering its trade in value and trying to decide how much the monthly payment on your new car should be, chances are you're moving a bit too fast. 

Why? Because you really should be thinking about hanging onto the car you have -- just long enough to save your money and pay for your next car with cash. 

Who would have imagined 2 years ago that we would be paying $4 or more for a tank of gas?  Well, believe it or not, it's a reality.  We appear to be in the midst of a gasoline crisis. 

While the New York Times debates the validity of there being an actual crisis, our pocketbooks say otherwise.  And, CNBC points out that gas prices are, in fact, at full-blown crisis level. 

I think the best way we can survive this hike in gas prices is to lower our need for gas. Here are some simple things you can do to lower gas consumption and lessen the damage that gasoline prices are putting on your pocketbook:

According to the U.S. Census, the national average commute to work is 24.4 miles.  If you combined average commute times into days, you will find that New Yorkers commute 6.7 full days each year, while people in San Diego commute only 3.9 days a year. 

These numbers do not include extreme commuters who can travel 5 and 6 hour commutes each day. 
 
While there are many good reasons to live in a home miles away from your place of employment -- such as price, and the fact that you may have owned the home before you got the job -- there are also many reasons to live closer to your job. 

I wrote in a previous article about the rising gas prices are causing me to be especially cheap when ti comes to buying and using gasoline. That article covered some about ways to get the best gas prices and to avoid being cheated at the pump. 

Now, I will discuss ways to maximize how much gas goes into your car at each fill-up.

As gas prices continue to rise, I find myself being a miser when it comes to gas. 

For example, if someone wants a ride that is on the way, I hint about chipping in on gas. (They usually find someone who is going their way.) If I forget something at the grocery store, I don't make a special trip back to the store.  I have a strict gas budget and will not budge on it. 

My reason for being so miserly when it comes to gas is my refusal to bow to higher prices than one's ability to pay for gas. But all the same, paying exorbitant gas prices is not my idea of a good time. 

Besides the gas savings adjustments mentioned above, there are other things I have done to squeeze as much out of the gas pump at each fillup as possible... 

In an effort to recoup the elevated cost of gasoline, many people are beginning to use gas rebate credit cards.

Managing money that you cannot see (as it is in the bank) is a difficult concept for many people. These people tend to have an inflated idea of how much money they actually have, and they tend to overspend and begin to rely on an unreasonable amount of credit to live.

The best way to teach a person to manage money is to have them actually handle the money. The Cash Envelope System is an excellent way to have people come to terms with their incoming and outgoing expenses.

From a site that's filled with fun and practical information about money (Blueprint For Financial Prosperity: Earn More, Save More, Live More, Enjoy More), check out these little-known facts about credit cards.

I can't believe there are so many fun & interesting tidbits on this list!...

Interested in saving some money? What about saving time?

Check out these quick tips for saving time & money.

Just about everything under the sun is covered here...