Five weeks ago I was able to pay $1.77 per gallon at a local station; price has now jumped to $2.19 per gallon and climbing. So now when I fill up my 13-gallon gas tank I’m paying $5.46 more. Filling up twice a week, or about 10 times a month on average, will cost me $54.60 more each month.

Fortunately, I have some wiggle room in my personal budget to meet this increase. For those who don’t have that flexibility, here are some tips to help you survive pumped up prices awaiting you at your neighborhood gas station:

Maintain Your Vehicle

You’ve probably seen these headlines and others just like it promising to clean up or “fix” bad credit. For someone who suffers from a bad or poor credit rating, these headlines are certainly an appealing offer.

Imagine finally being able to buy that new car, get debt collectors off your back, and enjoy a new found freedom from your past debts.

Sound to good to be true ? It probably is. Once you fall prey to credit repair offer and pay hefty fees involved to clean up your record, here’s what happens:

1) The credit repair scam artist contacts credit bureaus and reports that negative information in your file is false.

2) The credit bureau removes this negative information from your report while they investigate claim.

3) The scam artist will then show you cleaned up version of your credit report and “ta-da” your credit history has been fixed !

But here’s what scammer doesn’t tell or show you. After credit bureau completes their investigation negative information is placed back on your credit report.