Meet Amanda Luft, Our Gas Card Contest Winner

Gas prices may be high, but Patch readers are coming up with creative ways to save at the pump. We asked you to share your fuel-saving strategies in exchange for the chance to win a $50 gas card and the winner of the Patch Gas Card Giveaway is Amanda Luft!

Luft and her family live in Smyrna. However, this stay-at-home mom of two doesn’t spend much time at her house. When she’s not taking her kids to school or running errands she’s teaching music lessons at preschools throughout the metro area.

Luft teaches preschool music classes part-time and that keeps her on the go.

"I do travel quite a bit to a bunch of daycares and schools,” she said. “I travel two and three times a week and sometimes I have to drive up to Sugarloaf, the Duluth area.”

Luft said she conserves gas and saves money by consolidating her trips. If she has two classes to teach in one day, she’ll hang out at a local mall in between classes to pass the time so she doesn’t have to drive back to Smyrna more than once. Luft advised other drivers interested in saving money to do the same.

“I think most important is to have a plan,” she said. “What’s changed for me is trying to have a plan in place of where you’re going to go and how you’re going to get there. I try to plan everything in one direction.”

We got more than 200 comments submitted by thrifty readers. Here are some of the other great tips from your fellow Patchers:

• I'm carpooling when possible.
• : Sticking to my telework day every other week!
• : Taking my lunch to school/work instead of going home to eat or going out!
• : I've been taking the Xpress bus almost full time now to work. Very convenient and saves in the long run between gas and parking.
• : Biking and walking whenever possible. I bought a scooter for shorter trips rather than use our car.

The strong response to this contest got us thinking. What else is taking a big bite out of your budget? Other than gas, what's the one thing you shop for regularly that has shot up in price? Tell us in the comments area below.