That gas prices are going up comes as news to no one who is buying it. In just the last 10 days, the average cost for a gallon of unleaded has shot up $.28 cents to $3.47 on tensions in the Middle East.
But while there's always so much focus on that number, do any of us really stop to think what it means?
We crunched the numbers to find out how much of crunch we're getting into.
According to a 2007 study, the average Philadelphia commuter spends 58.8 minutes driving to and from work each day, painful, if you're sitting on the Schuylkill, but less painful than how much that commute is costing.
With the average round trip of 32 miles, that means, at current local prices $3.47 a gallon in Pennsylvania, you're spending nearly $9.50 every day just getting to and coming from work.
That's nearly $190 a month, $2,280 a year, deducted from your paycheck, to get to the place that gives you a paycheck.
A year ago, when prices in Pennsylvania were $2.74 a gallon, your commute would have cost $7.32 a day, which means then you had almost $44 in your pocket each month compared to now.
So, how do you save? Sure, there's always New Jersey, but even there a gallon has gone up to $3.30 on average. This time last year, it was $2.56.
Your biggest savings may come from ditching the car all together.
According to the American Public Transportation Association, the average commuter could save a whopping $825 a month by riding the bus or taking the train instead of filling up their tanks.
Of course, they're factoring in the cost to park your car and pay for tolls, but leave your car at home; you can leave those costs behind.
If you can't stop driving, then another cost cutting idea is to make sure your tank isn't the only thing that filled.
"Regularly look at them, check the inflation pressure. Look at the inflation pressure of the tire, and you know be on top of it," says Gene Petersen of Consumer Reports.
According Consumer Reports, you can shave about $.50 a day off the cost of your commute, simply by having your tires properly inflated. That's $120 more in your wallet each year, which won't erase the pain, but may at least help ease it.
