CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Currently the average price for a gallon of gas in Charlotte is $3.16, and the average for the state is $3.17 – an all-time high for the state. But some experts say it could go as high as $4 a gallon later this year.

The costs are putting a strain on wallets and frustrating drivers.

“That will get me to work today, tomorrow, and get me to lunch tomorrow, after that I'm putting $20 more or $30 more back in!” exclaimed Eric Leak.

The father of two had just spent $20 on a half a tank of gas Tuesday.

“It puts you in a situation where you have to make a decision: buy more Pampers for my kids or put more gas in the car so I can get to the grocery store. It's not right,” he said.

Tom Crosby with AAA Carolinas said not only are consumers feeling the pinch, but some are actually driving less.

“We're seeing a change in people's driving patterns -- how significant, we don't know,” he said.

But Crosby said there must be a 10 percent drop in consumption to keep the prices at the pump from reaching an all-time high.

“Some people predicted we will reach $4 a gallon. We will never reach $4 a gallon if these higher prices make us conserve our consumption of gasoline,” he said.

The soaring price of fuel has a ripple effect on the economy, said Peter Schwarz, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

“The economy has just about stalled, so these continuing higher gas prices are pretty likely to push us into a recession,” he said.

Schwarz predicts this spring a gallon of gas could go for $3.40, and possibly go even higher around Memorial Day.

By comparison, the average gas price this time last year was just $2.43.