There’s talk of a recession and foreclosure rates are still through the roof.

But pricey gasoline still tops the American consumer’s list of worries, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), which released its second annual consumer survey on Monday.

About half of U.S. consumers (45%) say they’re more likely to change their spending habits due to high gasoline prices than they would for rising home energy costs (26%), rising food costs (24%), a slowdown in the economy (22%) or the mortgage and lending crisis (13%).

Most American drivers haven’t cut back on their driving yet though. Thirteen percent said they’ve already cut back, and another 50% said they’ll hit the brakes at $3.25 (a penny higher than the current record of $3.24 in May 2007)

During the last year, soaring gasoline prompted 19 percent to switch away from gas guzzler; another 19 percent said they just thought about it.

Higher gasoline prices have consumers literally pinching pennies, the survey said, with 38% willing to drive 5 minutes or more out of their way just to save 1 cent.

Will going out of the way pay off for thrify consumers? Most likely, they’ll be driving themselves into the red, losing about $1.40, says NACS.