Gas prices are high and consumers are feeling the pinch at the pump. With gas prices nearing $4.00 per gallon, credit counselors are urging you to save gas whenever possible.

You can try the following methods to maximize a tank of gas:

• Consolidate your errands and do whatever possible to limit your daily driving.
• Avoid aggressive driving. Rapid acceleration, speeding and hard braking wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town.
• Don’t drive over the speed limit. According to experts, you can assume that each five miles per hour (mph) you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional twenty cents a gallon for gas.
• In households where more than one vehicle is available, when possible make sure you choose the car that gets better gas mileage.
• Limit you car’s idle running time.
• Don’t use premium gas unless your car manufacturer requires it.
• You should also take a look in your trunk. Carting a lot of unneeded items around can cost you. An extra hundred pounds in your vehicle could reduce your mpg by two percent, depending on the size of your vehicle.
• Keep your vehicle maintained. Your car’s spark plugs, air filter, fuel injectors, tires and brakes can reduce gas mileage if they are not properly maintained.

Not only will some of these steps increase your gas mileage, but also they will help to make the roads a safer place.

Credit counselors warn not to charge your gas if you cannot pay off your card every month. This might seem like a temporary solution, but paying interest on already high gas prices is costly.

As a credit counselor with Family Credit Counseling Service, I talk to people often who are overwhelmed with credit card debt. Many times during a counseling session I will discover credit card debt created by a medical crisis that occurred due to lack of insurance or being underinsured.

We all know a visit to the doctor can be expensive, even with insurance. If you require emergency assistance or need to be admitted to a hospital, medical bills can reach into the thousands and tens of thousands. When the medical crisis has passed, many find themselves in the middle of a financial crisis.

Medical collectors will begin calling shortly. Many people that don’t know how to deal with collectors panic and take the advice of the collector, “Which credit card would you like to use to pay your balance?” Without thinking, unsuspecting patients just paid a medical bill that usually carries little or no interest charge using a credit card with high interest rates.

Many medical providers are non-profit organizations. To have the status of “non-profit” requires these medical providers give a certain amount of care at no cost. When you are faced with a high medical bill, your first question should be, “What type of financial hardship programs can I qualify for?” If this doesn’t work, ask to set up a payment arrangement directly with the medical provider.

Bottom Line: Don’t compound your financial situation by turning a large medical bill into a credit card payment that could take many years to pay off after you factor in all of the interest that will be paid. There’s almost always a better way!

If you have more questions about your financial situation, Family Credit Counseling Service has counselors who can help today!

I talk to individuals all the time who ask questions like, "I co-signed for a loan and need to figure out how to get my name off now because collectors are calling me." Let me take a moment to educate on what it means to co-sign.

When you co-sign for a loan you are essentially a co-applicant. The reason your friend or family member needs a co-signer is because they have poor or insufficient credit. The bottom line is they are a bad credit risk for the lending institution who has decided to deny their credit application unless someone else joins the equation. The whole point of a co-signer is so the creditor has another person to go after for payments in case the primary applicant lives up to their credit history and defaults on payments.

There are only two ways a creditor is going to let you out of your obligation as a co-signor: The primary applicant might decide to make good on payments and create a good enough payment history that the financial institution is willing to refinance the account in only the individual’s name. Otherwise you’re out of luck unless you can find another lender to refinance without you. Don’t hold your breath here!

It’s too late to start asking how to have your name removed from a loan or credit card when they account is in default - that’s the last thing the creditor is going to do for you. Don’t be surprised when they begin to call you to ask for payments when they’re unsuccessful at collecting from the primary borrower.

Bottom Line: Be very careful when co-signing for a loan or credit account. As a credit counselor I’ve seen it ruin the best of friendships and tear families apart. Never even consider co-signing unless you are certain you have the means to make those payments if your friend or family member decides to use their money on more important things than bills.