Coping with the fuel crunch in Milton

Gasoline is at an all-time high and the pumps show no sign of letting up. The Sunday drive is a thing of the past, and many people are recasting vacation plans -- some have even discovered they will save money by flying rather than driving.

So the price of gasoline is affecting everyone's pocketbook and their driving habits. But what can families really do to economize on the amount of gasoline they must buy?

Here are a few tips that could put folding money back in your pocket:

Make your fill-ups count
Use regular gas if directed. If your engine was designed for regular gas (look in the owner's manual if you're not sure), and most cars are, then you gain nothing by putting premium gas in the car. Unless your engine is knocking, it does nothing for your engine's performance. Use only regular if that is what's called for and you save 40 cents a gallon off the top.

Fill up in the morning. Gasoline is quite volatile, which means not only does it evaporate quickly, it is sensitive to temperature. The warmer it gets, the more it expands just as a gas would. In the morning it is cooler, thus denser. Gas is sold by volume, not weight. So buy it when it is heaviest and save.

Don't pump the gas at full throttle. Again, pumping the gas slowly delivers the gasoline in a more dense state. Haste makes waste.

Avoid snake oil salesmen. There are lot of gadgets and additives people will sell you to increase fuel efficiency, but the great majority of them do nothing. Many actually harm the engine or reduce efficiency.

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