Gas Prices- how are you holding up?

Two nights ago I ran to Kroger to get a few things since we have been stuck home with the sickies. While the store was pretty empty, there were lines of cars at the gas pumps. I heard gas was going up, but didn't realize how quickly it was moving! My van's tank was full (thanks to being home all week) so I didn't get in line for $3.23 a gallon. When I walked out of the store the lines were gone and gas was suddenly $3.55 a gallon! A pretty hefty spike in only 30 or so minutes.

It is hitting our heating bill as well. Though my chart online points out that we used less energy this cycle, our bill was $66 more! When I saw that I had the urge to turn the thermostat down and put on more pairs of socks. I am also even more annoyed at the ever changing Indiana weather which brought us ice storms that shut the city down for a week and had people walking around in t-shirts the next. I am even more ready for nice spring days to stay if it means our heating bill will go down.

The more I read, the more it seems like this is just the beginning so I am thinking of ways to cut our gas usage. Thankfully we moved to a place that is within walking distance to the schools, our church, the library, and a small park. I have a feeling we will be doing a lot of walking this spring and summer! I think we may also set money back each cycle that our gas bill drops to prepare for when we need to use it again. We are also going to replace our roof this year, and I hope that helps keeps our heating prices down.

Have gas prices hit your budget? What are you paying per gallon? Are you doing anything to cut back on using gas?