Hurricane Isaac hammered the Gulf Coast, but here in South Carolina, gas prices are emptying our pockets.
"So in this case speculators said, 'Oh wow, this hurricane is coming in, it's going to have some sort of effect,' so right away prices start to rise," said AAA branch manager, Tracie Lawrence.
She said the increase at the pump is also due to Labor Day weekend.
Although prices seem outrageous, Lawrence says South Carolinians should count their blessings.
"Luckily we in South Carolina have the lowest gas prices in the country," said Lawrence. "And even the states just surrounding us, on average we're 11 cents lower then some of our neighboring states and in some cases as much as 22 cents lower"
But Heather Smith says she has to make sacrifices to pinch pennies.
"Me and my fiance will actually ride to school together or ride to work together," said Smith. "So we don't have to drive two separate cars."
AAA says using memberships to grocery stores, and finding those lower fuel prices can pay off in the long run.
Lawrence also says that there is no way to determine when gas prices will go back down.
To find the cheapest gas near you, click here for NewsChannel 15's Pump Patrol.
