Most drivers probably realized lower gas prices that are fattening wallets across the country.

Last month, gas prices in Raleigh started creeping closer and closer toward the $4 mark. Last week, they fell to $3.65. Prices dipped down a bit more, to $3.58, on Tuesday.

And these gas prices have made Americans more optimistic about the economic slowdown, according to data released by The Conference Board Tuesday.

The Board’s consumer confidence index rose from 51.9 to 56.9 in July alone, marking the largest jump in consumer confidence since August 2006.

“Consumer confidence readings suggest that the economy remains stuck in neutral, but may be showing signs of improvement by early next year. Declines in the Present Situation Index, both in terms of business conditions and the labor market, appear to be moderating,” Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.

“The Expectations Index, which posted a significant gain this month, suggests better times may be ahead. However, overall readings are still quite low by historical standards and it is still too early to tell if the worst is behind us.”

One of those who has felt the difference in both gas prices and economic confidence is Laura Read, a senior in architecture.

Each day, Read travels from her home in Garner to campus. It’s about 20 miles each way and costs about $60 a week.

That’s not including the 10 extra miles she drives to drop her 3-year-old son off and pick him up from pre-school.

Read chose to live in Garner not because of its convenience to campus, but because of Wake County’s waiting list for funding for childcare expenses.

“There was no way I could afford childcare, the cost of living and the cost of school alone,” she said.

But in Johnston County, there was no waiting list. So Read moved into a house she calls an “ongoing pit where you throw all of your money.”

She uses the money she’d like to spend on her house — including new flooring and light fixtures — on her commute. Gas is always “in the back of my mind,” she said, when she’s running errands or coming home from school. The prices don’t interfere with her plans to go somewhere, she said, but she will rearrange her day so that she can run her errands in a gas-efficient way.

It came as a surprise when she filled up her tank for less than she paid last week.

“I expected it to keep going up or hover around the same price,” she said. “I didn’t expect it to come back down as far as it has.”

Although lower gas prices have lightened, slightly, Read’s expenses, she is still skeptical of how much a $.40-cent per gallon price decrease will help.

“I don’t feel that great about it. It’s still too much. But it makes me feel better,” she said. “It would be nice if prices kept going down. I would love that. What can I do?”

Read said that, while on a vacation this summer, she noticed gas prices that were much higher than North Carolina prices.

“Some people have it much worse off than we do,” she said.