Emptying my tank

Over the last year, Mint.com estimates that I have spent $6,600 in gas and fuel for a Toyota Tacoma and a Toyota Venza.  Quick math will tell you that according to that information, I spend on average $550 per month, $126 per week, and $18 per day on gas alone.  This was a shocking number for me, because I don't consider myself to be a commuter, nor do I think that we spend a great deal of time in the car at all.  When I start to add all the auto amounts in my head, including car payments, insurance, maintenance, and gas . . . my heart begins to race as I come up with the number; we spend $52 per day on our cars.  For now our car payments are set, we just changed our auto insurance company to lower the monthly costs, and my husband has started to change the oil in our cars himself.  That really only leaves us with gas.  I did a little research and found some tips for saving money on gas.  I am going to start implementing some of them; I say some of them because you must know this about me . . . I love my car and I love to drive.  In my car I come up with some of my greatest ideas, I can formulate answers to the biggest problems in my life, and when life gets a little crazy, I can turn up the music and jam my worries away!  So knowing this, you must know that giving up driving entirely is not an option, but cutting back - Let's see, shall we:
1.  Park in the first spot that you see, don't drive around finding one that is closer or more convenient (I am so guilty of this one, including the fact that I sometimes drop my husband at a store only to drive around the parking lot to lull the baby back to sleep)
2.  Take care of your car - apparently cars that are well maintained run more efficiently and get better gas mileage (Oops, I am super guilty of this one, yes I am the girl that will let my car go 10,000 miles without an oil change.)
3.  Find better gas prices - I use gasbuddy.com, but don't go overboard when looking for the cheapest gas because if you are driving further to get the better price, you could be spending more than you are saving.
4.  Drive less (duh) - but the funny thing about this one is that we are all guilty of it.  This is where you go to Target in the morning to get diapers, then head out later to Walgreens to pick up the prescription that you forgot to get earlier.  Make a list of everything that you need to do and try to minimize trips. 

How much do you spend in gas per day?  I'll bet that you don't know. . .  find out the answer and possibly find out the key to saving a little bit more money!