Saving on Gas--Any Ideas?

With gas prices rising, there are definitely concerns among frugal people on how we can conserve in this area. It's alarming to me how the groceries are rising, seemingly almost overnight, at our local grocery stores. Not that I should be buying donuts or anything, but since it's a major treat for me when I'm pregnant, I went in for a raised sugar donut and the price had jumped 15 cents a donut this week! It was already WAY TOO high to start with!

So, what kinds of things do you plan to do in order to save on gas? I'd love to hear your ideas and comments on this subject!

What do I plan to do? Well, with a minivan coming soon, which will no doubt get less mileage than our Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, and with another child coming to the family, I will definitely have to cut back on my trips to the town 30 miles away for shopping. It's just not practical to eliminate them altogether due to the fact that groceries can be as much as twice the price here and buying just a few things over there more than pays for the gas to drive there, especially with all of the Walgreens freebies. However, once a month trips will likely replace my three-times-a-month trips I'm sure. We'll have to rework the grocery budget so that I get most of my money all at once instead of weekly chunks for food shopping.

I plan to walk and bike as much as my big belly will allow. One HUGE PLUS to the small apartment we live in is the central location in our town. It's only 2 blocks to either grocery store, 2 blocks to either video rental place, 3 blocks to the library and thrift shop, 4 blocks to Pamida, 6 blocks to our two best friends' homes, and a little under a mile to King Jo's work and my parent's house. The two best parks in town are both within a 20 minute walk or a 5-10 minute bike ride. I can easily bike to the garage sale corner (where everyone posts their yard sale signs) and I plan to limit my garage-sale-ing this summer and try to bike more and drive less since it's possible in a small town. Ali is signed up for swimming lessons but the pool is only a half a mile away, so we'll bike if the baby belly allows and if not, we'll walk!

I hope that we can also carpool with friends in order to squeeze in a few lake trips this summer, or necessary shopping trips to make the trips a bit cheaper. The price of gas really makes me question whether I really need to go somewhere or not these days! I've decided that staying home and throwing a pool party in the yard sounds a lot easier for an exhausted preggo lady than going on multiple day-long trips to bake in the scorching sun at the nearest lake an hour away. Now for those of you MN friends with lakes in your back yard.....I envy you!