1. Name: Chuck Brod, 56, owner of The Sportsman's Repair Shop in Mosinee. He commonly delivers repaired fishing reels and boat motors to customers in the Wausau area. Previous usage: It is a 24-mile round trip from Mosinee to Wausau. That translates to about two gallons of gasoline in Brod's Ford Ranger pick-up truck, or about $7.50 a trip

Solution: Brod mails small packages back to local customers or has someone deliver the items for him. He said he's not shy about asking his wife, who works in Wausau, or a trustworthy customer to make deliveries for him.

Cost: It requires a commitment of time by his wife and customers to help fellow anglers. If work does require Brod to travel to Wausau or Stevens Point, he says he includes groceries, other shopping stops, or dinner in the plans. A musky fishing enthusiast, Brod says fish bite and taste just as well in Mosinee as they do in Eagle River -- but for $75 less in gas and expenses.

-- Jeff Starck, Wausau Daily Herald

2. Name: Kim Graveen, 37, has about a 10-minute drive every day from her home in Wausau to work in Weston.

Previous usage: Graveen goes through nine stoplights on Grand Avenue and Schofield Avenue on her way to work. She also makes 100-plus-mile trips twice a month to Appleton to visit friends.

Solution: About a year ago, Graveen found that slowly accelerating when the light turns green saves gas. Graveen says she has to stop at the next stoplight, just like the guy next to her who stomped on the gas pedal. She now drives at the speed limit, or a bit under, when on highways where the speed limit is 65 mph. She says she is saving about $50 a month despite the continued increase in gasoline prices.

Cost: Graveen's drive to Appleton now takes about 15 minutes longer, and she must leave for work a few minutes earlier to compensate for driving at or below the speed limit.

-- Jeff Starck, Wausau Daily Herald

3. Name: Lynn Ange, 40, lives in Colby and travels to Wausau for work.

Previous usage: Ange typically traveled 75 miles a day in her 2006 Pontiace G6 V6. This cost her about $100 a week to fill up twice a week.

Solution: She carpools with three coworkers who live in Colby and Dorchester. The four meet in Abbotsford.

Cost: Ange said she now pays $15 to $40 a week in gas, fills her own car once every two weeks and reduces wear and tear and maintenance on each of the vehicles.

-- Jocelyn Berkhahn, Wausau Daily Herald

4. Name: Ron Kubetz, 41, Schofield, a heavy equipment operator.

Previous usage: Kubetz drives a monstrous Dodge Ram 3500 with a diesel engine. It got about 16 to 17 miles per gallon with highway driving.

Solution: He decided to fill the tires with nitrogen instead of regular air after reading a few articles touting the process. Kubetz said his truck now regularly gets 21 to 23 mpg.

Bill Barr, service director at Brickner's of Wausau on Grand Avenue, which offers the service, said nitrogen has larger molecules than oxygen, so tires deflate at a much lower rate. In addition, nitrogen is a more stable gas, so heat and cold don't affect it as much as they do air, making tires more efficient and longer lasting.

"I'm a firm believer in it," said Kubetz, who since has filled the tires on his family's other vehicle, a Dodge Caravan, with nitrogen, and plans to do the same on his fifth-wheel recreational vehicle.

Cost: Brickner's offers two levels of tire nitrogen packages. The basic package costs $39.95. A premium package, which includes a digital tire gauge and tire rotation service every 6,000 miles, is $129.95.

-- Keith Uhlig, Wausau Daily Herald

5. Name: Dino Corvino, 37, podcast coordinator for Family Planning Health Services, 719 N. Third Ave. The majority of Corvino's driving involves his commute to work from his Weston home. The round-trip from his home to work is about 13 miles.

Previous usage: On average, Corvino traveled about 120 miles a week in his Isuzu Trooper, which gave him about 12 to 15 miles per gallon. At that rate, Corvino says he spent about $50 to $60 a week on fuel costs.

Solution: On April 1, Corvino started riding the bus to and from work as part of a pledge he made to the Commission for a Greener Tomorrow. Though he spends about 90 minutes on the bus one way, he enjoys the change and the savings. A monthly bus pass costs $30, saving Corvino about $200 a month in fuel costs.

Cost: Corvino's pledge lasted through April, and he's driving again in his new vehicle, a Subaru Outback. He plans to ride the bus again on a frequent basis in June. Though he saves about $200 each month, he loses his flexibility to drive anywhere in Wausau after work. He has to take the bus home first before running an errand elsewhere.

-- DJ Slater, Wausau Daily Herald

6. Name: Mark Clark, 41, lives in Rib Mountain and works in Rothschild. Clark drives for shopping, work, travel and to drop off his child at events.

Previous usage: A round trip for Clark is 14 miles. In addition, Clark estimated he drives 40 miles a week for shopping and another 40 miles a week for miscellaneous activities. He typically fills his tank once every 21/2 weeks.

Solution: Clark has opted to use his bicycle extensively to commute to work, for small trips to stores and to activities. Though his primary reason is to stay healthy, he does save on gas.

Cost: This option means dealing with Mother Nature and the length of time it takes to bike somewhere as opposed to driving. To be fair, Clark said, if you're going to comfortably use your bike for these activities, you need to invest in racks, fenders, lights, bags and appropriate clothing. In addition, the bike needs to be in good condition and still occasionally needs repairs. When he did the math, he found he needed to ride to work 40 times a year to break even. Clark said he easily will surpass that number.

-- Jocelyn Berkhahn, Wausau Daily Herald

7. Name: Steve Strek, 48, of Wausau, a third-shift worker at Marathon Cheese in Marathon.

Previous usage: Strek commuted and drove a small sport utility vehicle that got about 20 miles per gallon.

Solution: He bought a 150-cc SUNL Adventure scooter, which gets about 80 mpg.

When weather is suitable (45 degrees or warmer), Strek uses his scooter to commute to work and for short trips around town. "It's just a fun thing to have in town. It really is," he said.

Strek estimates he saves $30 to $35 a week when he's able to use the scooter. "Maybe more when the weather's really good," he said.

Cost: The scooter cost about $1,100 three years ago. Because it's 150-cc, it requires motorcycle plates, which cost $23 for two years. A motorcycle endorsement on a driver's license is needed at a cost of $22 ($32 for learner's permit). Strek insures the scooter for an estimated $35 to $40 for six months. He also must endure the ribbing of his motorcycle-riding coworkers. "They make fun of me at work," he said. "They call this the angry bumblebee."

-- Keith Uhlig, Wausau Daily Herald

8. Name: Sarah Taggart, 34, of Merrill, a stay-at-home mom.

Previous usage: Taggart and her husband, Tim, have four children and used to cart the kids around in a Ford conversion van, which chugged along at about 18 miles per gallon. The van required a fill-up about once a week, and the family would only fill it partially to avoid paying the full $60 each time.

"I just didn't want to drive anywhere," she said.

Solution: The family decided to spring for a more compact vehicle, eventually purchasing a 2002 Honda Civic, which logs about 34 mpg. Now, the family can afford to fill its car all the way, and does so for about $40 every two weeks.

Cost: Taggart's used Civic cost about $9,000. The purchase took some doing but was worth it, she said.

"We thought, 'In the long run it has to pay itself off,' and I realize now that it has," she said.

But then there's the loss in seating capacity. Taggart admits she laments the days when the entire family could pile into the van. Now, if they want to head somewhere, they take the Civic and her husband's separate vehicle.

"We very often don't go anywhere at once," she said.

-- Brian Reisinger, Wausau Daily Herald

9. Name: Brittany Engman, 16, a junior at D.C. Everest Senior High School. She usually drives her car to school but typically walks to work.

Previous usage: Engman used to drive to her former job. Depending on visits to family members, she estimates she spent about $20 a week on gas to replace half a tank.

Solution: Her current job at the Callon Quik Mart Citgo station in Weston is less than a mile from her house. She usually walks to the station, weather permitting.

Cost: Engman needs more time to get to work. Walking to work could take up to 15 minutes, as opposed to getting there in one minute by car. Walking to her old job would have required 40 minutes out of her day.

-- Charles Menchaca, Wausau Daily Herald

10. Name: Shannon Whaples, 28, of Wausau, a piano teacher and the mother of two children, ages 21/2 and 11 months

Previous usage: Whaples' family owns two cars. She estimates they fill both gas tanks about once every two to three weeks.

Solution: Whaples said her family tries to combine trips, calls ahead to see if items are in stock at stores and limits recreational driving for hobbies such as bike riding and geocaching. They also use a credit card offering a 5 percent rebate for gas purchases and cash back for other purchases.

Cost: Limiting recreational driving might save up to the cost of one tank of gas each month. The credit card has no fee; in the first year Whaples' family has had the card, it received $200 back.

-- Amy Olson, Wausau Daily Herald