Will your long-distance love last? It may not take any serious soul-searching—just the answer to one simple question: Is your boyfriend worth the price of ignition? If you answered yes without hesitation, your future’s so bright, you should keep your shades in the glove compartment. But, with gas prices ringing in at over four dollars a gallon, many long-distance couples are calling it quits—or, at the very least, working through financial pressures they’d historically only confronted after the altar. “I have been trying so hard not to make any unnecessary purchases so I can pay for gas. It takes a tank [every time I] visit my boyfriend,” says one woman on the iVillage Long-Distance Relationships message board. Airfares are also sky high, courtesy of the fuel crisis. But the iVillage community recommends discount travel Web sites such as Priceline.com, Kayak.com and Travelzoo.com. Another woman says she’s reaped the rewards of frequent flying: “I've gotten a couple of free flights from Air Tran because of A+ Rewards points.”

Then there’s the in-between time. After all, consistent communication is key to long-distance success. Keeping in touch on a daily basis is easier—and cheaper—now, thanks to e-mail, instant messenger, even video e-mail. But the phone is still the closest second to face-to-face visits.  Long-distance love can magically make cell-phone minutes disappear, and it’s harder and harder to rationalize a hefty phone bill when the price of groceries is so rapidly on the rise. (A girl’s gotta eat!) Two suggestions on the iVillage message boards? Skype is one option for making calls for free through the Internet. Another iVillage member says, “Look into getting the same cell provider as your [significant other] since companies often give customers good rates and breaks by calling people who use the same service.”

If you and your guy are ready to go the distance, or rather, to stop going the distance, the current housing market can affect your relationship, as well. In one complicated (and very convoluted) story, a recently engaged 36-year-old woman in a long-distance relationship says moving in together now poses a potential problem. She expresses concern over a seemingly imminent post-nuptial dual-mortgage mess: “There is a good possibility that my home will not rent out or even sell. This leaves us with paying expenses on my vacant home plus on the apartment we would be living in amongst other things—not being able to save, think about starting a family, etc.”

But, in the meantime, one optimistic iVillage community leader is quick to note the financial pros of long-distance relationships that accompany the cons: “Sometimes you have to make a little sacrifice… But, on the other hand, think about all the money spent if you had a local [significant other]—going out every weekend, sometimes during the week.” She sagely adds, “Only you can decide if it’s worth it.”