Fox Business checked in with some experts to do some analysis and number crunching: What if oil reaches $200 a barrel?

The scenario ain’t pretty:

Imagine paying $5.75 or more for a gallon of gasoline. How about $7 for a gallon of heating oil. Now consider shelling out $6.50 for a gallon of milk, or $5 for a dozen eggs.

Welcome to the United States of America if the price of oil surges to the once unthinkable level of $200 a barrel. …

Thus if crude oil hits $150 per barrel, U.S. motorists can expect retail prices to jump about 75cents per gallon, landing somewhere in the $4.50 per gallon range. At $175 per barrel, gas shoots up to $5 a gallon. And at $200 per barrel it hits $5.75 gallon of gas. (Again, higher on the West Coast and New York.)

All of this could be further impacted if U.S. refining capacity was crimped for any reason — most likely by a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.

Given the usual news cycle on tourism stories, I’m sure there will be lots more headlines on this topic in the news media on Friday.

But some stories are popping up already on how and why Americans are cutting back on summer vacation plans:

• CNN: In tough times, Americans scale back.
• Toledo Blade: High gas cost detours many holiday trips.
• CBS: U.S. Travel Plans Hit the Skids.

Are you overwhelmed and don’t know where to start with all this “frugal living stuff???”

Don’t get too freaked out. Most of us started with one new routine or tactic, and built up our skills from there. Being frugal doesn’t mean you never spend money, it means you are saving money when and where you can — so that in circumstances when choices are limited, you do have the needed funds.

Lynnae at Being Frugal has some great tips at Frugal Living for Beginners.

I have found another southeast Michigan frugal blogger: Michelle at Bargains 4 Metro Detroit!

She is a member of the Frugal Hacks network, where you can find many other frugal bloggers. As of today, you’ll also find her on my “local links” blogroll. Here’s what Michelle says about herself:

I’m a first time mom and a life long bargain shopper. I live for the thrill of the clearance rack, I get giddy at the thought of multiple discounts, I love to watch my total go down as my coupons are added up! I cover a little bit of everything for the family from events and attractions to groceries and toys. I’m always looking out for ways to entertain, feed and clothe my family without breaking the bank.

Our like-minded blogging neighbors in Southeast Michigan also include Me vs. Debt of Ann Arbor.

I haven’t found any frugal living site or blog for metro Toledo. If someone wants to start one, or has one going already, please send me the link.

With the end of the school year approaching, the MonroeTalkers are chatting about teacher gifts.

I’m a Sunday School teacher and my “school year” ended last week. So I’ve already been on the receiving end of that cycle for the year.

If you are a family on a budget, do not fret yourself over these things. My mother-in-law was a first-grade classroom teacher for many years and ended up with too much “cute stuff” that she eventually had to clear out.

But if this is a custom you wish to observe, here are some inexpensive, practical and cheerful ideas, based on what I’ve been given over the years and what the classroom teachers seem to like:

• Gift card to a craft, book or school supply store. (Another possibility is a gift card to a religious items store if you are honoring a Sunday School teacher.) This is absolutely the most practical gift idea around. If there’s a limited budget in the school fund, the teacher is spending her own money for classroom supplies.
• A bouquet of flowers or a potted plant. Very easy, very inexpensive when you cash-and-carry, very eco-friendly with the potted plants, and sometimes you can support a fundraiser along the way.
• Gift card to a restaurant. This does NOT need involve collecting a big pool of money so the teacher can have a formal sit-down meal with her husband! One of my students gave me a $10 gift card to Panera Bread this year and I am quite happy with that. I’ll buy myself lunch sometime, and pick up a sweet bread to take home to share with my husband.
• If you have talents in the fine arts or folk arts, a one-of-a-kind creation can be a lovely gift with little expense out of your pocket.
• A thank you note or card. Very inexpensive, very sweet.

Consumer Reports has a spinoff magazine called Shop Smart. It’s been publishing since fall 2006 and focuses on “product reviews, shopping tips on how to get the most out of products and “best of the best” lists.”

Here’s a pdf version of an article from Shop Smart: Where the really big discounts are hiding. You’ll get tips as to the best times of the year to buy certain products.

I told you to stock up on picnic foods for cookouts and summer meals (thinking beyond Memorial Day weekend) after I reviewed the local grocery fliers this week.

My hunch was right. CNN reports Brace yourself for barbecue shock.

A snippet:

Food inflation is the highest in almost two decades, driven by record prices for oil, gas and mounting global demand for staples such as wheat and corn, and for proteins such as chicken. And that’s reaching into Americans’ backyards.

The price of an average barbecue — with burgers, hot dogs, beer, soda, condiments, salad, paper plates and lighter fluid — could run families about 6 percent more than last year.

And there’s a handy little chart showing the average price increase for specific picnic items.

What to do?

• Find alternatives to paper plates. You’ll do the environment and your pocketbook a favor. We use paper plates when tailgating at Michigan International Speedway because water and plumbing in the parking lot is limited to what you can bring yourself and portable potties. But when we have company at the house, we use our everyday plates. My sisters have suggested I buy a couple of pieces of kid-friendly dinnerware for their little ones, which is a reasonable request.
• Look at the picnic food promotions this week and stock up on family favorites. If there’s limited room in the freezer for extra buns, you can still buy a couple of bottles of the barbecue sauce that’s on sale. Don’t fret about coupon tricks not being available for most items. They aren’t necessary this week, most prices are pretty good on their own. You do, however, want to read the fliers carefully as specials do vary.
• When you’re participating in a potluck, aim for low-cost contributions. For example: Do not buy a decorated cake at the bakery. Buy a cake mix (you can get them for 79 cents this week at Hi-Lite in Monroe Township), add a half cup of raisins or nuts or chocolate chips to the batter, bake it in a Bundt pan, sprinkle powdered sugar or make a half-batch of powdered sugar icing to drizzle on top. You just spent about $1 to $1.25 creating a picnic-friendly dessert.
• Grow your own backyard garden this season. You could have tomatoes, pickles, and many other produce items later this summer for minimal cost. I’m growing peppermint and strawberries (Yes the peppermint plant is more for fun than cost-saving, but this is a big step because I have not grown anything edible previously).

I’ve never participated in this blog carnival, but it’s one that I do have on my blogroll and this week’s showcase is quite good: The Carnival of Debt Reduction, hosted this week at Prime Time Money.

Here are some of the entries you’ll find:

• I’ve Paid for This Twice Already presents Why Debt Stinks: Sometimes It Forces You to Make the Cheap Choice: “A core tenet of frugality, to me, is making the most cost effective choice for the long term, even if it isn’t the least expensive option in the short term.” That post piggy-backs pretty well onto a CNN news story about the increasing trend toward short-term grocery purchases.
• The Personal Financier presents Saving Hundreds of Dollars Easily with Well-Placed Outlook Reminders: “1. Add a reminder to your calendar of any expiring deals, obligations or engagements. 2. When the reminder pops up take an hour to shop and compare prices.” I don’t want to clutter my day planner with that stuff, but the idea makes sense. One alternative is set up a second calendar file (either paper or electronic) for financial tasks and check that list every payday.
• Living the Cheap Life presents How to ruin yourself financially in one easy step: “I recommended buying some cheap furniture from Craig’s List. We probably could have furnished the entire house for one month’s worth of rental fees. That’s how expensive it really is to rent furniture.” Read this story to find out what one financially irresponsible roommate can do to your stress level. Now imagine if you were married or in a “significant other” relationship to such a person. Pick your room/life mates wisely.
• Free Money Finance presents Don’t go into debt with someone before you marry them: “She and her fiance bought a HOUSE together, and they planned to live in it after they got married. Guess what happened.” Here’s what happened to me even with the legal protections of a marriage license and divorce decree: My ex-husband and I co-signed one loan when we were married and about $500 was owed when we split. Even though the divorce papers specifically said he was to pay that debt, the bank would not take my name off the account because I co-signed it. If he didn’t pay it, the bank expected me to. So I went to the bank every month to check up on that account until it was paid off.

Here are the sales fliers that were in my home-delivery edition of The Monroe Evening News today:

• Elder-Beerman has a Memorial Day sale Thursday through Monday that includes a variety of swimwear and summer attire. All in-stock furniture is 40 percent off.
• Tractor Supply has sales Saturday through Monday on grass seed, a garden hose, all leather footwear and wire crates.
• Menards has sales today thrugh June 1 on a variety of fencing and railing products, mulch and water garden kids.

Rumor control has it that at least one Monroe County gas station posted $4 pricing for a gallon of gas a few days ago. I was hoping to get a photo of the first such sighting … but it was apparently short-lived.

Given what happened today on the oil market, I assume we’ll be seeing that price point fairly quickly. Several Monroe stations are now at the $3.99 point, according to GasBuddy’s Michigan Gas Prices page.

Today’s headlines include:

• CNN: Crude prices jump over $133 on government supply data.
• CBS: Oil sets new record - over $132 a barrel.
• Forbes: Oil surge - no end in sight.
• MSNBC: Crude oil rises above $133 for first time.
• Detroit News: Holiday travelers scale back.
• Detroit Free Press: How much can you save on gas?
• Toledo Blade: Oil rises above $130 for first time.

The obvious thing consumers can do to reduce monthly household fuel expenses is to use less of it.

Yes, I know what it’s like to have someone in the family driving a 40-mile commute when gas prices are high. I know what it’s like to drive the school-age daughter all over southeast Michigan for this activity or that meeting. I also know what it’s like to have several immediate family members living about an hour’s drive away rather than in the same city where we live.

But to limit the damage that these gas prices will wreck on your family budget, you’ve got to look at using public transit, bicycles, walking, carpooling and bunching up out-of-town errands whenever possible.

For most of you, even drastic changes in transportation patterns won’t get the weekly or monthly gas expenses down to what you were paying a year or two ago.

For example: I could walk to work, but that won’t me save a lot of gas when I’m also bunching up my shopping errands as I drive back and forth to the office.

So if the skyrocketing gas prices cannot be managed with changes in transportation, you have to look at other places in your family budget where the expenses can be cut to make up for the difference.

How can you reduce your household living expenses? That’s what this whole blog is about.