10 Ways to Save Money on Gas
Most people who know me know that I love to save money on gas. I get great joy in knowing that I just purchased the cheapest gas in town. My husband has a message saved on his voice mail of me sounding ecstatic about driving by gas stations with incredibly low prices. I have to admit that I was thrilled. I’d called him just to share the exciting gas prices I’d seen. Who wouldn’t be excited about great gas prices?
Since I love saving money on gas so much. I thought I’d list some good ways to do so.
- Shop around. Gas prices vary even if it’s just by pennies. Every penny counts. Check the Internet to find the best deal before filling up. Gas Buddy is a great site to do just that.
- Don’t top off your tank. This is a hard one for me because I always like the final price to be a nice round number, but the extra gas you put in when you top off just seeps out of the tank unused.
- Make sure your tires are properly inflated. The drag from under inflated tires causes your car to work harder than it should.
- Get a tune up. A properly maintained engine uses less fuel.
- Avoid idling. That’s obvious.
- Don’t accelerate too quickly. This is another hard one for me because I like to take off from a light faster than everyone else, but all I’m doing is wasting a whole lot of fuel.
- Combine trips. Run multiple errands when you go out. Less trips means less gas used.
- Park in the shade. Just like every other liquid gas evaporates in the heat.
- Dump the excess baggage. Cars are heavy enough on there own. The more stuff you’re carrying around with you in your car the more fuel it uses.
- Smart air-conditioning use. On the highway open windows cause drag so you should use your air-conditioning. For city driving you should roll down the windows.
The most obvious way to save money on gas is to walk, ride a bike or buy an electric car. Most of us have to drive sometime, so until I can get that electric car I’ve been dreaming of, I’ll use these techniques to save some cash.
Photo by Josh Parrish.
[...] Art of Balanced Living gives 10 tips to Save Money on Gas. I was surprised it didn’t list gliding to the stop lights, which is something I tend to do. [...]
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