I like my cousin's way of financing his golfing trips: he tutors on the side and keeps that money for his golfing habit. I think I'm going to do that as well. The going rate for tutoring is $30/hour, and that ain't hay.

Let's see, figure $500 for a good tank, divide by $30 . . . . (30 guhzinta 50 one time . . .)

About 18 hours of tutoring, and I'll have a new tank including the shipping.

(I know, 500/30=16.66666666666666 dot, dot, dot, but there are always a few extras to worry about, so I called it 18 for good measure in the interest of conservative figuring.)

Also, with every little exta thing that pops up, put it into the ole kilt fund.

Also, there is the dollar savings plan: you take all the singles in your wallet at the end of the day and put them in the Fund. You only pay for stuff with 5s or 10s or 20s. Makes you think about that one-dollar cup of coffee, too. You know it'll actually cost you 5 bucks! You'd be surprised how fast the money will accumulate with this plan, and after a short while, you really don't miss the one dollar bills.