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MISSOULA- Gas prices have really been going up of late in western Montana and while $3.50 per gallon gas is no stranger to Montana, prices haven't been this high since last October.

The scary thing about the gas prices this go-around is how fast they shot up. In two years of price changes at the pump they've never gone up more than a quarter in a month's time. That is until this month when gas prices accelerated up 50 cents a gallon.

Believe it or not, last month we could still buy a gallon of gas for under three bucks locally and when compared to the average $3.53 we're paying in March, you have the biggest gas increase Breanna's Basket has ever seen.

The only bright spot is that Montana is still about 30 cents below the national average of $3.81 per gallon which went up 33 cents since last month.

There's some stability to be found in our staple foods as half the items in Breanna's Basket didn't change a penny in price. The items that did go up in price, such as Cheerios, beef and peanut butter, were balanced by price reductions in cheese, diapers and coffee.

Breanna's Basket totaled up to some slight savings over the last month, checking out at $65.39, marking a 16 cent savings on food in March.

Send on you money-saving tips to reporter Breanna Roy by clicking here.