Can I Still Beat the Memorial Day Gas Price Spike?

MILWAUKEE — According to Gasbuddy.com, the median price of regular gasoline has risen 11 cents over the past week and is sitting at $2.34 as of Wednesday morning.

Federal researchers have found gas prices follow a cyclical pattern in the Midwest, and you're most likely to get hit with more expensive gas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. (Haven't we always known the oil companies jack up prices ahead of holidays and weekends when more people hit the road, though?)

The good news is that AAA estimates that Americans have saved $18 billion on gas so far this year compared to the same period in 2015, and prices are at the lowest levels in 11 years.

Recent research by YiLi Chien and Paul Morris of the Federal Reserve Bank, in a report called When Should You Buy Gas?, analyzed gas prices from October 2015 to March 2016 using Gas Buddy data. Their review concluded that if you fill your gas tank once a week, on average, you could save $60 a year by gassing up on Tuesday or Wednesday vs. later in the week.

They say gas prices follow a "cyclical saw-tooth pattern," and knowing this pattern could save you enough money to pay for one or two tanks of gas every year.