With the constant rise in gas prices as it marches towards the four dollar mark and possibly beyond in many places, it is sometimes hard to put the total impact rising gas prices have on your budget.

According to the American Automobile Association the average driver puts about 15,000 miles a year on their cars.  At 20 miles per gallon as an estimated fuel economy number, that means that the average driver will use 750 gallons of gas this year.  That means that the average two car family will use 1500 gallons of gas. 

At 1500 gallons of gas, a 10 cent increase in the price of gas equates to 10 cents times 1500 gallons which amounts to $150.00 over the course of a year.  For most families, that would be a minimum. 

In the U.S. the average car to driver ratio is 3 cars for every four people.  So on average every four person family has three cars to fill up.  With three cars, the increase caused by a 10 cent jump increases to $225.00 per year.  If any of those cars get less than 20 miles per gallon like most SUVs, then your annual increase will be even higher.

Based on that information you can see how a 10 cent increase in a gallon of gas will cost you anywhere from $150.00 on up to about $300.00  Now visualize how much it will cost if the price does go to $4.00 per gallon.

If the current average is about $3.50 (as of the week of April 22, 2008) and the price increases to $4.00, that is an increase of 50 cents.  At 50 cents the annual increase for a family would be between $750.00 and $1500.00!

You could be looking at spending $1500 dollars more for gas this year than last year, and that doesn’t take into account the fact that the price of $3.50 that is the average now, is almost 80 cents higher than at this time a year ago.

The problem for most is obvious, where is the extra $1500 dollars to spend on gas going to come from?  It will be cutting back on gas consumption and it will be cutting back on other things like groceries, or movies or dinners out at restaurants. 

One thing is for certain, this summer looks like it will be a difficult one for everyone.

Scott Siegel shows you how to cope with high gas prices. He is the author of a 143 page manual of industry insider information on saving gas and money at the pump. Visit us to learn how you can get better gas mileage. Find out how to increase gas mileage.