Until this summer, I didn't consider a domestic flight a good deal unless it was under $100 for a one-way ticket. Since June, though, I know I'm lucky if I can find a flight anywhere that won't cost more than a mortgage payment.

A new study from USA Today shows exactly how much those prices have gone up because of fuel surcharges:

• Los Angeles to Bangkok -- up $352 over last year's fuel surcharge with a fuel surcharge of $542
• Washington, D.C to Tokyo -- up $400 over last year thanks to a $630 fuel surcharge
• New York to Dublin -- up $138 over last year because of a $230 fuel surcharge

Prices jumped sharply when jet fuel prices took off and airlines were forced to increase fuel surcharges in ticket fares. But now jet fuel is down sharply, comparable to last year's prices, yet the high prices remain all across the industry. What gives?


Outraged travelers accuse airlines of greed, but the airlines argue the surcharges are still necessary. A Northwest Airlines spokesperson says that prices "continue to exceed the surcharge levels in place," adding that many existing surcharges were not in place when oil was at its record high earlier this year. Other airlines say that the surcharges they were charging when jet fuel was at its high of $4.34 per gallon in July could not keep up with the costs to the airlines, so that now even though jet fuel is down below $2.40 per gallon, they are still trying to catch up with all the costs incurred over the summer.

Hedging fuel costs sounds confusing, but it's nothing new. Some airlines, like the budget model Southwest, have managed to claim a profit in no small part because their masters were clever enough to buy most of its fuel when it was still sensibly priced. That can work out really well if gas prices go up, because those smart airlines will still be paying an older, lower price. Some experts think Southwest has saved $3.5 billion by doing this since the late '90s.

United Airlines, which has a management as sharp as a box of hammers and aging seating about as soft, thought it could imitate Southwest by getting into the hedging game, too. But, whoops! Timing is everything. It got in way too late, as the market prepared to peak. Prices went down. And right now it's paying almost $13 more a barrel than oil is actually worth, which could rack up as much as $544 million in boneheaded, unnecessary losses.

It's a lot like the guy down the street who bought his house a year ago for $400,000, only to find in this self-correcting market that it's now worth about $250,000, which everyone in the neighborhood knew was a more realistic price all along. He intended to flip it, but now he's got to live in it. Of course, if gas prices go back up a bit, United's loss may be mitigated slightly.

When they were first introduced, the only hybrid cars on the market were Toyotas and Hondas -- small, practical cars that were admittedly a little funny-looking. These vehicles were much more about economy than style. Luxury automakers were slow to jump on the hybrid bandwagon, as their target customers have not generally been too concerned with the cost of fuel.

Times have changed, though, and rising fuel costs are affecting even the wealthiest sectors of the population. Environmental concerns are growing, too, and hybrid cars are in very high demand. In June 2009, Mercedes will begin selling its first hybrid -- a large car that balances fuel economy with sexiness.

At 30 miles per gallon, the new model will approximately double the mileage of the non-hybrid luxury S-class sedan, but it's still no 60mpg Prius. Mercedes execs argue that this large car is more practical for their customers, with plenty of space to pack for vacations. There's no official price tag just yet, but Mercedes Marketing Director Klaus Maier estimates a premium of less than €10,000, or $14,000. That would put the total price in the neighborhood of $100,000 - $160,000, depending on options.

We've all become a lot more interested in the secret science of what determines gas prices. The Cincinnati Enquirer just painstakingly analyzed price data from 716 gas stations in May and June using the Oil Price Information Service. Their most peculiar and potentially useful finding was that gas is cheapest on Tuesdays.

Over the whole period among all those stations, gas was an average three cents a gallon cheaper on Tuesdays than Wednesdays, and once it jumped 16 cents overnight. The Enquirer found that Wednesday was the day stations raised prices for the upcoming weekend, and that they lowered it just after the weekend.

The Enquirer says gas mavens have known this all along, though it was certainly news to me. If gas stations are expecting to even out their demand with pricing, will it work if people don't understand the weekly cycle? The story says: "Experts say gas always has been cheapest midweek, when demand is lowest. But the exact cheapest day is likely to change at any moment, without notice...." So, if we all start buying on Tuesdays, the cheapest day will move.

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Even though Fuelly seems to have too many vowels to be a web 2.0 application it has hit the ground running and provides users with a cool new way to track fuel usage. I had previously written about Fuel Frog, which lets you track your gas usage online at each fill up and it does a great job, but Fuelly really raised the bar. Fuelly has added a social aspect to tracking gas mileage by letting you compare your MPG with others driving your car and also with your friends and family to see who is getting the best mileage.

If you can get your friends to start using Fuelly then you'll have more of an incentive to track your gas mileage and be fuel efficient since we all seem to enjoy a little competition. You may find out some interesting stats about your friend's fuel usage while using Fuelly. While I have a fuel efficient car, I tend to drive like I'm trying to put out a fire somewhere while my friends with bigger vehicles are known to drive more like a 90 year old out for a Sunday drive. I can't wait to see who is getting more for their money.

I'm going to take Fuelly for a spin today when I fill up my car, I have fallen behind in my usage of Fuel Frog partly because I am lazy and partly because I couldn't remember the format for tracking it by text message. The competitive angle of Fuelly may be just what I need to stick with tracking my fuel cost and usage better and figuring out how to best budget for my gas needs. No matter how you track your gas consumption doing so is an easy way to empower yourself to watch your finances.



Hat tip to Lifehacker.

I hadn't called my favorite pizza place in a while because I've been making my own (it's cheaper and I've been trying to eat mostly organic food). But I was going out for the night, leaving my husband alone with three boys, so I called Rudy's and ordered the best deal: the $9.99 medium pepperoni pizza.

"There's a $15 minimum now," said the voice on the other end, apologetically. "Gas is $4 a gallon, you know."

I wasn't the only one to be hit with expenses due to rising gas prices (and what's worse, my husband didn't eat the $5.99 antipasto salad I ordered). Many businesses are starting to charge for delivery, or tacking fuel surcharges on top of existing prices. The Washington Post points to a $10 increase in the cost of a mowed lawn for one woman; off-the-charts fuel surcharges at grocery delivery service Peapod; and the surcharges to ship packages at UPS and FedEx, going up by a percentage point to 9.5% on July 6 thanks to the ever-rising cost of diesel. Green Daily wrote about a fuel surcharge for traffic violations that will go into effect in one Georgia town July 1.

Naturally, not everyone is cool with the added on costs.

The answer, quite simply, is no.

When looking at the possibility of our government intervening to provide a timely and effective relief strategy for high gas prices, there is virtually nothing, short of shutting down the country, that our government can do. Oh sure, they could suspend the federal gas tax for a while, but that would accomplish nothing. As shown by my Governor Jim Doyle (D-Wis.), if you pull the tax structure off gasoline, they'll just come for that money in some other manner. Wisconsin eliminated its automatic annual gas tax increase, so the good governor simply jacked us up for about 70% higher vehicle registration fees.

The government could attempt to stimulate increased refinery capacity. That might help some, but not for another ten years or so. Besides, our price at the pump is dictated by the demand for crude oil. Refinery capacity represents only a small fraction of the cost detail. Refinery capacity should be increased just as a measure of protection against extreme shortages caused by catastrophe, but as far as lowering your fuel cost in the next couple of years, new refineries mean nothing to you.

With gas prices so high that it seems like it costs $40 just to get to the next gas station, alternatives must be considered. Rollerblades and bicycles aren't good for long distance commutes, and getting a horse might annoy the neighborhood association. One alternative: make your car into a billboard, and get paid hundreds of dollars to promote everything from insurance to energy drinks.

But according to a 2005 Bankrate article, the industry is rife with scams. Never work with a company that asks for an up-front fee, and be wary of big promises: no one is going to give you a car. Be realistic. Given high gas prices, there are a lot of people who would love to turn their cars into billboards, and your chances of getting picked are slim.

But it may be worth a try. One of the reputable companies in this field is FreeCar Media. Here's their pitch:

FreeCar is advertising supported. Advertisers choose the drivers they want based on the information you provide us. You will never have to pay a cent to participate in the program.

When you are chosen, your vehicle will be wrapped in an attractive advertisement and you will get paid up to $900 a month. Most programs average 3 months but some are longer and others shorter.

If you want to give it a shot, fill out the application here, and they'll contact you when they need drivers in your area.

No, I'm not going to talk about the big oil companies that everyone likes to demonize. I'm talking about petty criminals. It seems that stealing gas from people's cars isn't just limited to siphoning anymore. The more creative thieves are drilling holes into gas tanks to get at their loot.

Ever safety conscious in their quest for stolen gas, the thieves are more prone to drill plastic tanks, which are less likely to create a dangerous spark. And they're also easier to drill into. Pickup trucks and SUVs are more likely to be targeted too, as their height makes the theft easier to accomplish.

If this happens to you, it's going to be expensive. The criminals aren't just going to make off with your precious gas. You'll need a new gas tank which averages $300 to $500. And God forbid that you have a business with a bunch of vehicles lined up (think car rental company). Criminals may just move on down the line, victimizing all your vehicles. That's going to be awfully expensive.

Crooks are even stealing cooking oil to turn into biofuel. What is our world coming to? Yes, budgets are tight and some people have been put in a difficult financial position because of the high cost of gas. But does that make it right to steal gas from someone else's car? They haven't caused you to pay more for gas, so don't try to justify stealing from them. And certainly don't do it in this moronic way which creates an expensive repair to boot.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

A few days ago, Zac Bissonnette clued us in on one of the easiest ways to save money on gas: slowing down. Studies have shown that driving over 60 miles per hour wastes a ton of gas, so that's the most logical way to save money while driving.

There are a few more gas-saving tips out there that might help you a little bit more. Each of these won't save you a ton of money, but collectively you might be a little better off. One idea is to look for low gas prices by using GasBuddy.com or GasPriceWatch.com. Of course, if you drive far out of your way to save a few pennies on your gas, you're no better off. But if you can find a better deal close to your regular route, go for it!

Buy your gas very early in the morning or very late at night. Gas station owners usually raise prices during the middle of the day, especially when nearing rush hour... the time when most people pump gas because of the convenience. Schedule your fill-up earlier or later, when you're more likely to get a better deal.

Get better gas mileage by slowing down (covered above) and by doing more gradual starts and stops. You waste gas every time you step hard on the accelerator. The same goes for stopping quickly, which wastes the gas you just pumped into flying down the street. Finally, doing regular maintenance on your car can help you save a little gas too. Properly inflated tires can go a long way toward optimal gas mileage, and clean filters, spark plugs, and the like can help your car run more efficiently.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Want to save money on gas and protest President Bush's policy at the same time? Some say the way to go is Citgo gas. That's because it's a wholly owned subsidiary of Venezuela's state-owned oil company. Yes, that would be the Venezuela currently being run by that nutjob Hugo Chavez, who calls our president "the devil." But still, he is hated by Bush and he is probably the only president who is said to be elected on a platform of using his country's oil revenue to benefit the poor. That's something.

Finding a Citgo gas station isn't hard, since there are about 14,000 of them across the country. According to CommonDreams.org, a left-leaning website, buying your gas at Citgo means you are helping to provide health care, literacy and education to the poor in Venezuela, rather than merely subsidizing rich, fatcat oil companies. One report said that President Chavez is offering gas and heating fuel at low prices this winter to help the poor and needy in this country.

Not everyone is a fan. Check out Citgo Boycott Headquarters for the opposing view. They say Chavez's allies are pro-Communist, and that he sponsors worldwide terrorism. So is Citgo gas really cheaper? And if it is, is it worth buying it? Decide for yourself.