We all have to rent a car at some point, and it costs a little bit of money. But there's no reason it has to cost a lot of money, even as the rental agencies try to rack up the bill. Here are 15 tips that can lower your rental costs.

1) Check your insurance. For example, your current auto insurance policy may cover you behind the wheel of any car, not just the one you own.

2) Research your credit cards. Some cards offer free insurance if you use them to rent a vehicle. Check your terms and conditions closely to see where the insurance applies.

3) Make them top off the tank before you rent. There's no reason for them to rent you a car that can barely get off the lot before you have to fill the tank. Only request this if there's no fee involved, of course.

4) Return it with a full tank. That way, they can't hit you with expensive refueling fees.

5) Always be suspicious of a low, low rate. Call the rental agency and ask for a full price quote, including taxes and fees.

6) Avoid airports. Most airport rental agencies charge an "airport fee."

7) As a rule, you won't need the insurance offered to you: between your credit card and auto insurance policy for your own car, you'll be covered in the vast majority of situations.

8) Reserve a compact. Either you'll save on gas, as they have better mileage, or, when you get on the lot, they'll have no compacts...meaning you’ll get a free upgrade to a mid-size or bigger car, at the compact rate.

9) Check the weekly rates. If you need a car for most of the week, for example, and the weekly rate drops the overall cost by a substantial margin, consider picking the car up a little early, and returning it a little late.

10) Be way with websites like Priceline. They can have good deals, but may also have rates that are the same or even higher than just going to the rental agency directly.

11) Check for deals. Memberships in certain organizations like AAA, holding certain credit cards, or being an employee of certain corporations may entitle you to discounts, free upgrades, or similar perks.

12) Look into dropping off at a different location. For example, say you go to a city by air and rent a car in the city itself. See if you can drop your rental off at the airport, saving you some cab fare.

13) Avoid peak times. For example, if you were renting a car on a weekend in Florida, you'd pay more than renting the same car a few days earlier.

14) Rent outside the city. For example, if you have to go to Chicago, you could fly to Milwaukee and rent a car there for much less money; then drive to Chicago.

15) Check mileage requirements and see if you can get a lower rate in exchange for driving less. For example, if your meeting or other obligation is only a few miles from the hotel, see if you can get a lower daily miles limit in exchange for a lower rate.

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Getting a traffic ticket is the worst. In an ideal world, we'd never have bad driving habits; but sometimes, we slip up, and we get called to account for it. But something people never stop to consider is the fact that when you do get caught, you can pay way more than just the cost of the ticket. Heck, the cost of the ticket is just the start of this particular fiscal nightmare.

Keep in mind: these fees aren't in place to rip you off. They're in place for two reasons: one, to offer you a pretty powerful incentive to stay within the speed limit and drive safely, and two, so that it's the people breaking the traffic laws who primarily pay for traffic court instead of the taxpayers. But that doesn't make the bite hurt any less. Here are some of the fees you can expect to pay for a given speeding ticket.

Insurance Premiums

Needless to say, if you can't get that ticket off your record, it goes straight to your auto insurance. How high can it go?

Up to 25%, depending on the severity of the violation. This is because speeding kills; those are the facts. And you've just sent your insurer a very clear signal that you're a lot more likely to cost them a lot of money all of a sudden.

The good news is that this percentage will gradually drop and then vanish after three or so years...provided you can keep within the speed limit.

Court Costs

Like we said, there are rules in place to shift the cost of running the courts onto the people making use of them: namely, people getting speeding tickets. How much you'll pay in court costs vary from state to state: for example, in Ohio, it will run you $124. But, just like cars, that's the basic package, and there are plenty of hidden costs even there.

Say you want to just pay your ticket on your credit card and have done with it; they'll be happy to run the card...but since they get charged swipe fees, doing so will likely result in a 4 to 5% "convenience fee." Want a trial transcript? That'll cost you. Want to appeal? That'll cost you.

Vehicle Administrative Fees

The fun's not over yet: some states, like New York, will charge you a "vehicle assessment fee" over three years, as a little reminder that speeding will hurt your wallet. Even in states without these fees, if your car is impounded, you'll have to pay the storage fees and other costs to get it out and drive it off the lot.

But once you have your car back, you'll still, according to many states, have to relearn how to drive it, or make restitution for your bad behavior

Traffic School and Community Service

Let's say you either drove way too fast, or followed our tips for keeping a ticket off your record and bargained the judge into an alternative punishment. Now you've got traffic school.

Traffic school is not provided free of charge: you'll have to pay to get in. Even if you get an alternative sentence, like community service, it's still money coming out of your wallet: you have to pay to get there, and there's the money you lose when you could be doing something else.

In short: don't speed. It costs, and it costs more than you think.

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Cars are costly … from monthly payments to repairs to auto insurance. And then there’s gas … which is pretty costly in and of itself. But you don't need us to tell you that: you get an unpleasant reminder every time you pull in to the pump. And some of us are feeling the bite a bit more than others.

First, why are prices so high in general? Well, there are a few factors: the cost of crude oil, the cost of refining, the cost of getting the gasoline to the pump itself, overall demand, and taxes. Every state has its own gas tax, for example.

So which states have it the worst...and why? Interestingly, the ones that take it on the chin the hardest are all on our West Coast.

#1) Alaska

Cost Per Gallon: $4.56

It seems weird that a state known primarily for its oil would have expensive gas prices, but the reason is really pretty simple. Sure, Alaska has a lot of black gold sitting under its crust...but it doesn't have the refinery capacity to meet demand. So to get gas, Alaska has to pump out the crude oil, ship it out to refineries in California or even Texas, and then ship the gasoline back. That costs.

Worse, there's no easy way for distributors to get any sort of product to our northern-most state. Either they can drive it through Canada, which means they'll have to comply with Canadian shipping rules...or they'll have to bring it in by boat. Neither are good for keeping costs low. The only bright spot is that its gasoline taxes are the lowest in the nation, since for obvious reasons they've got enough problems.

And that puts it in the same boat with our other non-contiguous state...

#2) Hawaii

Cost Per Gallon: $4.55

It's a problem the Aloha State knows all too well. Everything, and we mean everything, that is sold in Hawaiian stores has to be shipped over by boat. That's why pork is so popular over there: it's a lot cheaper to run a pig farm in Hawaii than it is to ship over steaks in refrigerated ships. Unfortunately for Hawaiians, there's no local oil to farm, which means they get their gas by boat...and pay for the "privilege."

#3) California

Cost Per Gallon: $4.21

The Golden State has an entirely different problem. It's got plenty of refinery capacity, but it's not a major oil producing state. So the oil needs to be either trucked in from North Dakota, Canada, or Texas, which is tough even in the modern day, or brought in by tanker from Alaska. That adds some pain to the pump, but you'd think having refineries nearby would help a bit.

Well, it would, but one small problem, though: demand. There are more than 30 million vehicles on the road in California, more than any other state, and twice that even of Florida, which comes in second for the most cars. Also, California is not a tiny state, meaning that fuel still needs to be trucked from refineries to the gas stations, adding to the price.

Adding to California's gas woes is the gas taxes, some of the highest in the nation.

#4) Washington

Cost Per Gallon: $4.07

Washington benefits from getting oil from the Montana and Utah pipeline, but that doesn't mean it necessarily has the capacity to keep up with the demand for gas from cities like Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane, since there are only six refineries in the state. California, for contrast, has 20. As a result, they get dinged by higher prices...although at least they're not California.

#5) Oregon

Cost Per Gallon: $4.03

Oregon sits in a "sweet spot"; it's between two states with lots of refinery capacity and near one that ships out crude oil. Unfortunately, it's still dinged by shipping prices and basic demand, and it's not like the oil coming over the Rockies is magically cheaper. So they're still paying over $4 a gallon; they're just the best off of a bad lot.

So who's winning the gas price wars?

#5) Tennessee

Cost Per Gallon: $3.50

Two things help Tennessee's gas prices: moderate demand, and proximity to states like Texas and Louisiana, with plenty of crude oil and refining capacity. The low gas taxes also help to moderate prices, but it's really that sweet spot of demand and access to various shipping routes, such as the Mississippi River, that keep its prices low.

#4) Kansas

Cost Per Gallon: $3.48

Kansas is another state that benefits by location: because it's on the way to the West Coast, gasoline tankers are stopping off there anyway. Also helping: being close to Oklahoma, which has lots of refineries and crude oil, and thus makes shipping costs a lot lower than other states.

#3) Arkansas

Cost Per Gallon: $3.47

Another beneficiary of being close to Texas and Louisiana, Arkansas has an added advantage: an extremely low gas tax. In addition, Arkansas has low enough demand that most of its gas can come from its own two refineries, meaning the cost savings are passed on to the consumer.

#2) South Carolina

Cost Per Gallon: $3.44

South Carolina benefits from something very simple: there's plenty of supply nearby, but it only has moderate demand. Economics work in South Carolina's favor, especially since it's on the way to states with higher demand, making it cheaper to ship gas to South Carolina since, heck, they're going through anyway. A low gas tax also helps, putting South Carolina in the number two slot.

#1) Oklahoma

Cost Per Gallon: $3.42

No two ways about it, Oklahoma is blessed with cheap gas for multiple reasons. One, it's got crude oil of its own, as well as its own refinery capacity. Two, it shares a border with Texas, which is no slouch in the crude oil and refinery front itself. Three, it has some of the lowest gas taxes in the nation, which keeps prices nice and low. And four, it's got only moderate demand, so with the enormous supply, it has more than enough to meet demand.

How'd your state do? We've got a full chart, right here.

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