Finance > Personal Finance > How to Save Money on Gas
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Article rating : 0.00, 0 votes. Author : Jodie Merrington
Gas prices just keep going up, and our wallets keep
decreasing in size. This how-to will teach you many ways to
save money at the local gas station.
Steps
1. Take out a credit card. Some credit cards offer gas
savings when you use the card for purchases. This works
in much the same way that some credit card companies
give you frequent flyer miles when you use their card
for purchases.
2 Get a gas membership card. Look for membership
benefits. In addition, department and grocery stores
give discounts at the fuel pump when you use their
store membership cards. Shopping at Giant Eagle
grocery store and using their membership card, it’s
possible (at the time of this writing) to fill a
car’s tank for .79 cents a gallon, with savings of
$1.36 per gallon.
3. Give your car a good tune up. While giving your car a
tune up won’t actually save you money at the pump, it
will save you in gas. Using less gas saves you money over
all. Have the oil changed, and have a certified mechanic
give your engine a twice over.
4. Check the WWW for deals. Web sites let you find the best
deals in your area.
5. Buy a hybrid car. Not only do hybrid cars give you
immediate savings at the pump, the U.S. government and your
local state offer tax breaks for people that use gas
saving cars. Federal deductions for using gas saving
cars can be as high as $2000. If you can’t afford the
growing number of hybrid cars out there, consider getting
a regular car with good MPG (miles per gallon), like the
Toyota Echo.
6. Turn off the AC. Running the car’s air conditioning puts
extra strain on your car’s engine. This translates into
you car eating up more gas per mile. Use less gas, save money.
Depending on the car you drive, at highway speeds, the AC
might put less drag on your car than if all the windows
are open. Therefore, you might want to keep it cool on the
highway.
7. Use the cheaper stuff. Most modern cars run just as well
with the cheap gas as they do with the more expensive gas.
In fact, engineers assume the car buyer is going to use
the cheap gas, and so, they design the car’s engine
accordingly.
8. Don’t fill the tank when prices are higher. Gas suppliers
and gas station owners can charge high prices for gas
because they know people will pay for it. The owners
monitor how much gas people are putting into their cars
each day. If they hike up the price a few cents and people
are still filling up their tanks, this tells the owners
that people are willing to pay the high price. Adding
only a few gallons to your car when prices are high sends
a message to the owners that people are not happy about
the high prices.
9. Don’t drive. Don’t drive when you don’t absolutely have
to. Carpooling, walking, taking the bus, and riding a
bike not only saves you gas, but these are better for
the environment and may be better for your health. Do you
really need to drive to the store when it is only a couple
of blocks down the street?
10. Check the tire air pressures weekly. Buy an inexpensive
manual air pump and an accurate tire gauge (not a pencil
gauge as they are not accurate). Keep all tires inflated
to the same pressure as recommended for your car but not
for your tire. Go by the sticker on the doorframe and not
the tire wall.
11. Drive at a consistent speed and keep the windows up tight.
Keeping the windows closed reduces the drag on your car.
Sticking to the speed limit also helps. So, will using less
gear changes and revving the engine less. Avoid accelerating
fast or braking suddenly. Use cruise control when you can.
12. Clean out any unnecessary items in your car. If you have
heavy objects in your car that you don’t need - remove them.
If your car is lighter, it will use less fuel to get you to
where you’re going.
13. Avoid leaving your car idle. If you are going to be
stopped for more than one minute, you will save gas by
turning the car off and restarting when you are ready
to go.
14. Buy on cold days. Buy fuel on cold days and if you can,
drive on the hot days. When you buy on cold days, and pay
for volume, you buy more “mass” of fuel for the same price.
Never fill the tank completely or it will overflow when
it becomes hotter.
Jodie Merrington is the webmaster of Fort Cash which a
which is a one-stop research center for all the very latest
resources and articles cash related.
For more details please visit http://www.fortcash.com
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