Due to multiple factors Americans are having to pay a very high price for just one gallon of gasoline. The 2 major factors are the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the ending of Covid-19. The average price on March 10th is a shocking $4.32, with California leading with $5.34 cents per gallon.  

Gas prices are continuing to rise with no break in sight. This is bad for drivers and companies who rely on shipping – so pretty much everyone.

With Russia being one of the biggest oil producers in the world and them invading Ukraine, this caused gas prices to spike extremely fast to the price that we see now. The Russia and Ukraine conflict has caused one barrel of gas to cost about $100. Gas prices are projected to keep on rising day by day. According to gasbuddy.com gas prices seem to be at about $4.25 per gallon in May and are projected to stay over $4 throughout November

Many Americans are complaining about the gas prices and having a hard time filling up their tanks. In Texas minimum wage is $7.25 cents while a gallon of gas is $3.73, this means that Texans that are being paid minimum wage have to work an hour for just 2 gallons of gas. The average car can hold about 12 gallons of gas. Therefore it will take a minimum wage employee roughly 6 ½ hours just to fill up their tank.

There are multiple ways consumers can save a little gas and get the most of their tank: Avoid high speeds  or stay at a consistent speed throughout longer trips. You should also make one trip to all of your locations instead of going to one location then coming back home then going back to another location. This is because warm engines run more efficiently than cold ones. You also do not want to accelerate or brake too hard, decreasing your speed and steady acceleration can save you as much as 20% of your fuel.

There are some tips for saving money at the pump. According to KHOU news, Thursday is the worst day to fill up your tank, because this is when you are most likely to see the highest gas prices of the week. A solution to this is getting gas on any other day of the week, to help your wallet in any way with these extreme gas prices.

Until the prices start heading down, it is going to be tough to fill that tank each week. This might be a good time for some more aid or for more gas to be produced.