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?

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Since I love saving money on gas so much. I thought I’d list some good ways to do so.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. The drag from under inflated tires causes your car to work harder than it should.
4. Get a tune up. A properly maintained engine uses less fuel.
5. Avoid idling. That’s obvious.
6. 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.
7. Combine trips. Run multiple errands when you go out. Less trips means less gas used.
8. Park in the shade. Just like every other liquid gas evaporates in the heat.
9. 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.
10. 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.

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