'Backseat Driver' wins fuel-saving video contest

A video featuring two buddies preparing to carpool who get fuel-efficiency tips from a literal backseat driver snagged the top prize in the Drive Smarter Challenge video contest.

David Markus, a California-based freelance videographer and aspiring film director, walked off with the $5,000 prize for his "Backseat Smart Driver" short while taking a humorous approach to serve up driving tips to help motorists spend less on gasoline.

"At an early age, my father gave me tips to drive more efficiently -- accelerate slowly, inflate tires -- so when I started filming, I already knew most of the tips," says Markus. My friends actually tease that I 'drive like a grandma.'"

Click here for the lowdown on the Drive Smarter Challenge.

Lower gas prices for Mass. drivers

Great news! The average price of gas falls to $3.60 in Massachussetts.

According to a survey conducted by the AAA for Southern New England, the prices on gasoline in Massachussetts dropped by another two cents, which is eight cents below the national average.

The prices slumped to an average of $3.60 per gallon--the lowest price recorded since Monday, July 7, when prices had soared to $4.08 per gallon.

Click here for the lowdown.

Bussed students may have to walk to school

Parents and officials around the country are waiting until September to see how the current generation of suburban chauffeured students will respond to walking to school.

Hundreds of school districts from Massachusetts to California have been forced to make big-budget cuts this year, and compounded with the high price of fuel, bus routes were some of the first expenses to been crossed off the list.

Cities and towns have responded by increasing the distances from which students are expected to walk. In many places, it’s 1 to 1.5 miles for elementary school students and 2 miles for high school students.

Encouraging more kids to walk has more benefits than just saving money for the school districts. There will be less pollution from the diesel fuel used by school buses, kids will get more exercise and become more oriented in their communities.

The new effort does have some detractors, however. Mary Day, a mother from Shirley, Mass. expressed her concern to CNN. "I remember being a kid," Day says. "Are you going to walk a half-mile down the street to cross in the appropriate way when you see a clear way right there?"

She worries that her sons will come into contact with traffic and train tracks on their way home from school each day. Like many working parents, she can drive them to school inn the morning, but cannot pick them up in the afternoon.

Julie Hatchel, a spokeswoman for a California school district, explains the reasoning behind the unpopular cuts. "Our goal was to keep those cuts as far away from the classroom as possible," she adds.

--Bridget O'Sullivan

Retail sales drop on a national level

For the first time in five months, retail sales have dropped.

The Commerce Dept. reports Wednesday that retail sales fell .1 percent in July. This is the first drop in retail sales since a .5 percent drop in February. With gas prices at an all time high in July, shoppers say "no" to anything that's not an essential.

The $92 billion in stimulus checks seem to be just a memory. The fragile economy may slow down even more in the second half of the year. On a good note, the all time high gas prices have been falling, hopefully helping consumer spending in the coming months. Economists are still concerned, wondering if gas prices alone will be enough to change the current consumer spending habits.

Susan Taylor-Demming of Naperville, Ill. says, "Play dates instead of water park adventure." Taylor-Demming says her budget this year has meant that she drove to New Jersey with her two daughters instead of taking a flight for a summer vacation.

Tony Fratto, presidential spokesman at the White House, believes that July sales reflect a decline in auto sales caused by high gas prices. Excluding autos, retail sales would actually have increased .4%.

Read the full article at the Washington Post.

Gas prices and electric bike sales climb

You are environmentally friendly, and you are about to go out with your friends. You're not about to sweat it up on your bicycle.

Alternative? Grab your electric bike.

The Associated Press shows that with the rising cost of gas, and more people wanting to go green, people are looking towards electric bikes as a step in the right direction.

Electric bikes act as a two wheeler with a battery powered assist, combining old-fashioned pedaling with a battery powered motor. You don't need a license or registration, so long as you don't ride more than 20mph. Most models can ride for at least 20 miles before they need to be recharged.

Gluskin-Townley Group does market research for the national bike dealers association, and estimates 10,000 electric bikes were sold in the U.S. in 2007, up from 6,000 in 2006. "The electric bikes are the next big thing," says Frank Jamerson, a former GM corp exec turned electric vehicle guru.

Boston gas prices better than U.S. average

Sick of gas prices in Boston? We may be better off than the entire nation.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Boston drivers paid 8 cents less per gallon of gasoline compared to July's national average.

Boston drivers paid around $4.06 per gallon of gas in July, compared to the U.S. average of $4.14 per gallon.

Although Boston drivers are paying less this does not exclude the fact that Boston gas prices rose $1.07, or 35.8% in July 2007, and were up 8.2% over May 2008.

Read more at bizjournals.com

Gas prices hit seven-week low

In the past two weeks, U.S. gasoline prices have dropped significantly. As of last Friday, cost per gallon ended lower than expected with the U.S. crude oil hitting seven-week lows.

This is exciting news for commuters and travelers. The average price fell to $3.9959 per gallon which is 12 cents lower than two weeks ago.

Trilby Lundberg, an oil-industry analyst who surveyed 7,000 stations nationwide, remarks, "The crude oil market has imposed a down price correction on itself, and this oil price slide is rapidly being translated into a gasoline price correction.

According to the report, the sharp gasoline price drop is partially because of a report saying OPEC's oil output is expected to rise significantly in July due to higher supplies from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

SAVINGS 101: Turn $5 into $12,000

High gas prices and stagnant wages are making it harder than ever to save money, but Marie Franklin of the Boston Globe has one trick that allowed her to save $12,000 in under three years.

Every single time a cashier hands you a five dollar bill, tuck it into a separate pocket of your purse or wallet and no longer think of it as money you can spend. Open a special bank account—one that you won’t withdraw from – just for this money.

Franklin suggests that each time you’ve accumulated $50 worth of fives, make a deposit. Without easy access to the money, it will be much less tempting to get off track.

The key to this strategy is to stop thinking about five dollar bills in the same way as the rest of the cash in your wallet. Instead, fives should be considered valid only at the bank — where you can put them into your account, but you can’t take them out.

Another saving tip inherent in the five dollar bill strategy is that in order to be able to stash away any sizable amount of money, you have to make most of your purchases in cash.

This allows you to set self-imposed limits because you can only spend as much as you’re carrying at any given time. In addition, studies have shown that people spend less when they physically have to hand over their money instead of just swiping a card.

Following the five dollar bill strategy, you could find $4,000 a year hidden in the money you already make. What would you do with so much extra savings? In her article, Franklin says people often ask her the same question. Her response: “I have no idea. I'm having too much fun watching it grow to want to spend it.”

--Bridget O'Sullivan

Gas prices continue to soar in Boston

According to the Boston Globe, gasoline prices in the Hub were lower than the national average in April.

Nationally, the average price of all types of gas hit $3.49 a gallon, 15 cents more than Boston and 12 cents above the inflation adjusted price in March 1981. Unleaded regular prices average $3.44, 13 cents more than Boston and 4 cents above the inflation-adjusted 1981 price.

However, prices have continued to soar in May. The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Massachusetts last week averaged $3.92 a gallon, according to the Globe's "gas prices in your area" statistics.

Click here for the Globe's real-time gas updates.