Gas prices.  The very mention of the term makes my stomach clench.  Is there no end in sight?  Everyone seems to have somewhere to lay the blame, and my Facebook and Twitter feeds are seeing more and more pumpside rants as people post enraged photos of their ginormous fill-up costs.

Regardless, however, of who or what is to blame for our current plight, be it a political issue, an economic one, or a vast conspiracy involving shadow governments and other dimensions, one thing is certain:  The only really reliable way to lower gas prices is to use less gas.  With this in mind, CNN money has compiled a suite of six apps and websites to help us seek out the lowest fuel prices, plan shorter routes, ease the stress of carpooling, and track your car's fuel economy. 

These apps include:

• GasBuddy, a smartphone app that uses user-submitted photos to find the lowest gas prices nationwide
• Bankrate's gas calculator, a website that will help you calculate whether driving across town for that lower gas price is really worth it (this one's a very valuable tool to the penny-pincher at the pump)
• Carticipate, a social carpooling tool for iPhone and Facebook
• GasHog, a fuel economy tracker for iPhone
• Route4Me, a fuel-saving route planner for iPhone
• MapQuest gas prices tools, a way for you to use MapQuest's already great service to plan your fuel stops for optimal efficiency.

Considered one at a time, any of these tools seem like a good idea that misses part of the point - but used together, they could very well save you quite a bit of cash.  I'm not sure what's more impressive - this list, or the fact that I resisted the urge to use yet another "There's an app for that" joke in this article's headline.  Stay tuned to the AskPatty Blog for more fuel-savvy tips.

Check out the full reviews at CNN Money's website.

 

Kaeli Gardner AskPatty.com, Inc.

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As gas prices continue to rise, these apps and sites are here to help -- in ways that go above and beyond simply locating the cheapest gas.

• Filed Under:  
• Technology, Cars, Finances

• Tags:
• Web/Tech
• Around the Auto World
• social media
• Cars Be Green & Eco-Conscious
• fuel economy
• smartphones
• apps
• gas prices
• gas mileage
• cnn money
• gas buddy
• mapquest

View Original Post at caradvice.askpatty.com

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