Foothills residents have been doing a lot of moaning and groaning at gas stations lately after an unexpected jump in gas prices took place this past week.

At some stations, gas shot up more than 20 cents per litre, and is now averaging about 122.3 cents per litre.

Executive director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, Inc., Jeff Schwartz, says many Canadians are already living paycheque-to-paycheque, so it's important to save money on fuel wherever possible.

"We don't think about it, but if you've ever tried to ride your bicycle with an under-inflated tire, you find out how much harder it is," he says. "And it's the same thing for your car. Make sure your tires are inflated at the recommended levels because you want your car to be working as efficiently as it possibly can."

Another good tip Schwartz has, but says mostly everyone has been guilty of, it to not speed.

"Most vehicles hit a wall at about 93 kilometres per hour," he says. "And what that means is that anything beyond that, (the vehicles) won't be working as efficiently as they could and they're working a little bit harder. So just slowing down is probably going to be the best thing to save some gas."

Schwartz also recommends cutting down on air conditioning and to stop idling—both which will help cut down on gas.

And finally, Schwartz says it's important to visit a mechanic regularly.

"People say it costs a lot to get (your vehicle) regularly maintained, but it's probably going to save you quite a bit of money in avoiding some of the major expenses and perhaps even your regular expenses like gas are going to go down because your car is running more efficiently."

With the extra cash you'll save with these tips, Schwartz says even though it might not be much, it's important to spend it wisely.

"The idea is not only should you make your car work efficiently, you want to make your money work efficiently too," he says. "So if you're carrying a lot of debt, especially on credit cards where interest rates are higher, take that money and put it towards paying down that debt."