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Gas Prices: 5 Apps That Save Families Money

Prices at the pump are up nearly 25% since last year and some experts think they could hit $4 a gallon by summer. Worse still is that unleaded can vary 20% depending on where you buy your gas, according to GasBuddy.com. Pull up at the first filling station you pass and you could be wasting money that could go toward other family expenses. Surely you would drive an extra mile if you knew where to find the best deal, right? Thanks to some cool apps, you can now have that information at your finger tips while you're on the go.

TrueCar.com, an automotive pricing website, combed through the available driving related apps and found what it deems the best of the bunch. Here are the site's top five that help drivers conserve gas and save money filling their tanks:

Cheaper Gas
1. GasBuddy. This app maps or lists gas stations in your current area and can be sorted by distance or price. Best of all, GasBuddy is free and is available for both the iPhone iOS3.0 or later and the Android 1.5 and up.

2. iGasUp. TrueCar.com likes this app because it provides real-time pricing data on 110,000 gas stations from credit card transactions. When you start the application, the ten cheapest gas stations are provided closest to your location. This application is $0.99 and is compatible with the iPhone iOS2.2.1 or later.

3. Waze. Stop wasting gas idling in traffic. Let other drivers tell you where the traffic jams, accidents and police traps are. Waze is free and compatible with iPhone iOS3.0.0 or later.

4. Route4me. This application improves your route when traveling to multiple places to find the best one to your destinations, allowing for 25 to 35 percent better optimized directions. This application is free and available on the iPhone iOS 3.2 or later.

5. Carticipate. We all know carpooling is another way to save on gasoline costs. Carticipate enables ride sharing within your network of family, friends and co-workers and matches you to folks going your way. This one is free and compatible with iPhone IOS 3.1.2 or later. If you don't mind planning ahead, you can also use it on Facebook.

Another app worth considering is TripTik from AAA. In addition to locating pumping stations and gas prices for you, it has some additional features AAA members may enjoy. You can use it to see route maps, AAA offices locations, AAA approved hotels, restaurants and auto repair locations. It's free, and compatible with iPhone 3.0 or later.

Do you shop around for cheap gas?

Stacey Bradford is the author of The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents.
Pumping Gas image courtesy of Flickr, CC 2.0.
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