Don’t guess, find out where the cheapest gas is in your area before you leave home

Even though gas prices have come down from the $4.00+ we’ve all been paying since the summer of 2008, we still don’t like paying prices at the pump. We feel like we are being robbed no matter what we pay and literally being held “over a barrel” with our wallets.

But the high prices have upset a lot of people and they are banning together to help you. There are many websites that have been created to help you find the cheapest gasoline.

We all use Mapquest to find our travel locations, but there are more that are set up to help you. If you click on the icon labeled Gas Prices, you will be taken to a page where you will enter your address or zip code. You’re not limited to just gas prices, of which your choices are: regular, mid-grade, and premium. But you can also find current prices and places to buy: Diesel and Alternative Fuels: Boidiesel, CNG – Compressed Natural Gas, E-85, Electric, Hydrogen, LNG – Liquefied Natural Gas, LPG – Propane. There is also a gas price calculator to estimate the cost of a trip you may be planning to see if it is within your budget.

MSN also has a gas prices and location mapping area on its website. When you click on the Cars tab, you’ll find gas prices at the bottom of the page under Driving Tools. This page only shows prices for Regular, Plus, Premium and Diesel grades of fuel. MSN doesn’t have the other grades that Mapquest offers information on, but if you’re just looking for gas prices, it’s a good place to get this information. They also have an area available on this web page to calculate your fuel costs for travel.

There are also websites that rely on their members to enter and update gas price and location information. One of the most popular is Gas Buddy. Due to its focus on gasoline prices and data, there is a lot of information on this website regarding trends as well as current information. They have two charts that can give you an instant update at a glance. One of these is historical price charts that show trends at different time increments from one month to 6 years. Another great informational tool is the US National Gas Temperature Map, which color-codes the high and low prices for the entire country. Very informative, especially if you are planning a cross country trip of any kind.

If you have the new iPhone, you have a fabulous tool at your disposal that makes finding the nearest and cheapest gas station easier than calling a friend. The iGasUp iPhone app is the best way to get the information you need on gas prices while you’re on the road in an instant. You can find the cheapest gas price for where you are and the nearest station if you find yourself traveling where you don’t know where the stations are.

So when gasoline prices start to rise again at unreasonable costs—and they probably will—you’re not alone in the price war. With these organizations on your side and keeping up with current trends, you should be able to keep more of your hard earned money in your pocket.