With the economy facing soaring crude oil prices for the past year, consumers and drivers have seen a major impact on their savings. It could seem as though the good old times are over. Gasoline at $4 a gallon is not something we can ignore, and if we take into account that Americans consume nearly 40% of the world's gasoline, you can see where the problems begin. So the surge in oil prices came with an imminent effect on consumers, who had to cut back on their spending.

But since we are already in this unpleasant situation, Kiplinger offers some solutions to help investors fight against high oil prices. Kiplinger underlines in this article that one smart move would be to minimize the cost of driving by making some good energy-related investments.

Gerry Jordan, manager of Jordan Opportunity, recommends investors invest in oil companies such as Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) and Weatherford International (NYSE: WFT), citing strong international business. In addition, Jordan believes that higher crude prices will increase drilling demand. On the other hand, Jordan also loves power companies like Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN) and Reliant Energy Inc. (NYSE: RRI) as he anticipates huge power outages across the globe during this year.

On the other side, Steve Romick, one of the best value managers in the business, prefers energy companies. He picks out stocks such as ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and Ensco International Inc. (NYSE: ESV) for which he expects significant earnings in the future even amid difficult market conditions.

For the moment though, it's clear that oil supply-demand is a major problem that will persist for many years ahead. "Maturing basins in the OECD, limited access elsewhere, constrained capacity, higher costs and rising resource nationalism challenge consumers and producers alike, "BP chief executive Tony Hayward stated.

Eliza Popescu is a financial writer for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.