For many Americans the Memorial Day weekend is getting off to a rough start thanks to record gas prices at the pump.

The national average reached $3.83 a gallon on Thursday as the price of a oil hovered around $135 a barrel.

Some analysts predict that in less than three months Americans will see $5 gas.

"There is no inventory for oil, we hear about the Saudis cutting back or not producing more -- the big problem is that we just don't have enough worldwide to be able to meet the demand," Money Analyst Jim Kramer told NBC's "The Today Show."

Kramer has long predicted that gas prices will hit $150 a barrel and $5 at the pump this summer.

If gas prices hit $5 a gallon, the cost of fuel for a family that spends $50 a week for gas would be increased more than $2,600 a year. So the economic stimulus check most Americans enjoyed in the spring would go directly into their tank.

And unlike interest rates, rising oil prices isn't something that be fixed by the feds. That means that the most crushing blow to the economy, higher fuel prices, is largely beyond the control of the government.

Prices won't recede until national and worldwide demand of oil tapers off.

"That will happen when prices hit $6 or $7 per gallon," Kramer said.