Washington ? More people are feeling that record-high gas prices soon will have their wallets running on empty.

Almost two-thirds of those surveyed for an AP-AOL poll expect fuel costs will cause them financial hardship in coming months. That’s sharply higher than in April, when about half felt that way.

“I filled up last Monday, and it cost me $53,” said Gary Spaulding of Fulton, N.Y., referring to his Ford Explorer. “One of the cars we’re going to get rid of. We can’t afford both of them.”

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is more than $2.40 per gallon, compared with $1.86 a year ago and about $2.21 in April, according to the auto club AAA.

And costs are expected to keep rising: Prices for crude oil reached a record of more than $66 a barrel Friday. That’s almost 50 percent higher than a year ago.

The poll conducted for The Associated Press and AOL News found that 64 percent say gas prices will cause money problems for them in the next six months. In April, 51 percent expressed such concerns.