(WXYZ) — Pain at the pump continues as gas prices creep towards $6 per gallon.
Alicia Clifford is a mother of three and works as a dietary aid. Her busy days include a lot of time behind the wheel, making it hard for her to manage rising fuel costs.
"I think people will start quitting their jobs," said Alicia Clifford.
For the last few weeks, Alicia has been spending $100 per day just on gas. That means she's had to cut back on her spending.
"Trying to stay away from the stores and trying to get everything once instead of going out daily," said Alicia Clifford.
Steven Davison loves working as a home remodeler. But those trips to work are costing more and he's had to make changes to his food budget.
"I’ve started shopping at Aldi. Let's go with that, it’s a lot cheaper there," said Steven Davison.
A recent national survey by Employment Boost shows that, due to high gas prices, 40% of people are eating out less and 43 percent are choosing to spend less on food in general. Travel is also another area folks are cutting back on.
Ryan Miller from Employment Boost says high gas prices are driving new trends.
"We’ve noticed a lot of movement in the job market, for people searching for either completely remote positions or hybrid positions to where they don’t have a daily commute or come into the office," said Ryan Miller, Client Success Manager, Employment Boost.
Ryan says people are also picking up a second job or looking for ways to create a passive income, while others are turning to their employers to bump up their wages.
But with the current inflation and high gas prices, can companies even afford to pay more?
Ryan says "more often they can’t especially if they are a small business, so usually advertising is the thing that gets cut first, and then when you can't afford to pay the highest end to your employees the highest end of the salary they A, look for other job or B, the business has to examine the possibility of reduction of force,"
Meanwhile back at the pump, John Platt shared his top two tips that have saved his wallet.
"I’m watching where I'm going, I’ve even made some adjustments as far one of my cars, I've gone from using premium to using regular," said John Platt.
And if all fails, Eugene Coleman says just have faith.
"This is life, I rely on God and I have no issues," said Eugene Coleman.
