19 Ways to Save on Gas

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August 28th, 2009 | cashrunner | Posted in Frugality

Reducing the amount of money you spend on gasoline is easy. You can improve your fuel economy, use a rewards card to get cash back, buy the cheapest gas, or simply drive less.

Improve your Fuel Economy

Keep your car well maintained. An engine that is out of tune consumes more gas. By some estimates, your car could be consuming upwards of 20% more gas.
Keep your tires properly inflated. You can improve your fuel economy by 3.3% on average.
Get rid of unnecessary weight. Take out the junk from your trunk. The heavier your car is the more energy it takes to move it. Guess where that energy is coming from.
Tighten the gas cap. If the gas cap is not tightened properly, you’re allowing gasoline to evaporate. Your fuel is literally going up in air.
Don’t go fast. Sometimes the speed limit is your best friend. At speeds greater than 60mph more and more of your fuel is used to overcome wind resistance. You got to ask yourself if it’s really worth it losing 20% more gas just to get somewhere a few minutes earlier.
Drive at a constant speed. Use cruise control as much as possible. Constantly changing speeds affects your fuel economy in two ways. First, when you brake, you give up energy. Second, when you accelerate, your engine consumes extra energy.
Accelerate gradually. Try to accelerate slowly. It takes less energy to increase speed over a longer time period.
Brake slowly. Try to anticipate stops as much as you can. Braking suddenly isn’t just dangerous. It consumes more energy.
Turn off the AC. Roll down the windows and turn off the AC when you’re not on the freeway. At high speeds, though, the increased wind resistance from keeping your windows down means you will lose more in gas than you can save.
Don’t idle. Turn your engine off when you have to wait 30 seconds or more.

Use a Rewards Card

Get a credit card that offers you cash back on gas. Sometimes there’s a trade-off, though, because many gas stations offer a lower price when using cash instead. You’ll have to calculate whether the savings are worth it. For example, if your card gives you 3% cash back on gas, you will save an extra 6 cents per gallon when gas is $2 a gallon. Generally, the higher the price of gas, the more money you will get back.
Beware of rewards cards that charge annual fees. Most gas-station branded cards do. If you’re a Costco member, consider the Costco-branded American Express card. The annual fee is waived for Costco members. Another card to consider is the Discover Miles card, which doesn’t charge an annual fee at all.

Buy the Cheapest Gas

Use online tools to search for the lowest price of gas in your area. Websites such as GasBuddy offer up-to-date info on local gas stations. Driving to another gas station is only worth it, though, if it’s nearby. Don’t go out of your way just to find the cheapest gas. You might waste more gas to get to the gas station than you could possibly save.
Buy from a wholesale club. Stores like Costco usually offer lower prices than other gas stations in the same neighborhood.
Buy regular unleaded. Unless your car manual says you can only fill up with premium gas, don’t waste your money. Buy regular unleaded and save. By the way, mid-grade is just a marketing gimmick.
Fill up in the morning or at night. Gas is sold by volume, not by density. The warmer it is outside, the more gas will vaporize. Fill up your car in the morning or at night when it’s cooler. You will get more gas.

Drive Less

Walk. If the place is only a couple of minutes away, get off your butt and walk there instead of driving. It’s also great exercise.
Ride your bike. Consider commuting to school or work on your bike. You could get an electric bike so you won’t sweat.
Use public transportation. If you’re in a city, getting a monthly bus pass or train pass can be well worth it. If you’re a college student, check if you can get one of those discounted passes that give you unlimited rides during the school year. At some colleges, you can even get them for free.

Photo Credit: restlessglobetrotter

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