It’s A Gas!… 14 Ways To Save Money At The Pump…
Gas prices have been steadily going up, they’re now at an average of over $3.00 a gallon and it coming down to more reasonable prices (around $2.50 — which really isn’t reasonable but at least it’s a bit better) is a bit of a pipedream… with a barrel of oil bouncing between $95 and $99 it doesn’t seem that for the foreseeable future we’ll be paying a lot at the pump…
So that you can help save some money when you buy gas here are 14 tips you can use right away to leave some coin in your bank account and not in the pockets of all the oil conglomerates:
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.
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 or Yaris.
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.
If you have any money-saving tips, for gas or anything else, you are welcome to share here on the blog…
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Pingback by Many Credit Card Options » Blog Archive » It’s A Gas!… 14 Ways To Save Money At The Pump… — January 10, 2008 @ 12:23 am
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Pingback by Credit card » It’s A Gas!… 14 Ways To Save Money At The Pump… — January 10, 2008 @ 12:54 am
Your comment about hybrid cars is incorrect insofar as saving money is concerned. Now, there are other reasons for owning a hybrid, but if your intent is to save money over (rather than robbing Peter to pay Paul), hybrids are not necessarily the way to go.
Full tax credits for the purchase of a hybrid are only available for the first 60,000 units manufactured. After that there is a sliding scale of 50% - 25% and 0. So, Toyota and Lexus buyers get NO credit as those sales have long since been passed.
Below is an excerpt from ClarkHoward.com regarding true hybrid savings:
Oct 30, 2007 — Most cost-effective hybrid vehicles named
There’s one call that Clark has taken on the air about 60 times over the years, and he’s never been able to answer it convincingly: Is it worth it to pay the extra bucks to buy a hybrid just to pay less in gas every week? Now Edmunds.com has done a cost analysis of some of the top hybrid models. Their research indicates how much longer it takes to get a return on investment if you buy the hybrid versions of any cars in the study. It’s the Ford Escape that gives you the quickest payback — owners will break even at around 3 years. The Honda Civic and the Mercury Mariner tie at No. 2. The Saturn Vue checks in at No. 3, allowing owners to break even in 4.8 years. Keep in mind that any hybrid offering return on investment in under five years is a smart buy. On the other end of the spectrum, the Toyota Highlander takes 11 years before you break even and the Camry will take you 12 years. And what about the Prius? Because there’s no exact gas-engine equivalent, Edmunds looked at the Prius vs. Corolla. Turns out it will take you a whopping 13.6 years to get payback if you only drive your Prius 15,000 miles/year! So Toyota — the greenest of all the automakers — actually does not give you good payback on your hybrid-purchasing dollar. Clark advises people to only buy a Toyota hybrid if they’re doing it because of deeply held environmental beliefs.
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If your #1 reason for switching to a hybrid is to save money, there are many variable to consider before running into your nearest car dealership.
Debbi Bressler
Comment by Debbi Bressler — January 10, 2008 @ 5:09 am
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Pingback by Buy Cars — January 10, 2008 @ 9:22 pm
Buy gas on Monday or Tuesday. Most weeks the price of gas goes up a few cents on Thursday/Friday in time for the weekend. You can save 3-5 cents a gallon most weeks by doing this.
Buy your gas at ARCO. ARCO is usually 7-10 cents a gallon cheaper than other stations. If you aren’t in the western states, you probably have some other low price retailer. Learn where there stations are.
If your grocery store also sells gas, they might give you a discount when you purchase with a rewards or loyalty card. Usually you can get gas at ARCo cheaper than the discounted price at Safeway, but if you’re in an area where there aren’t any ARCO stations safeway is cheaper.
Plan to get gas. The prices in Souther California are 45-60 cents higher than the prices in AZ. When I go to LA I fill up before entering CA, then buy only enough gas to get past the Colorado River on the way back. I used to fill up in Banning because a tank will get me home from there. Now I only put enough in to get the to AZ.
Hitchhiking is also a good way to lower your gas bills. Especially if you’re a woman with a hot body who is willing to put out. If the right guy picks you up, you could even make a few bucks.
Terry
Comment by Terry Gibbs — February 9, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
It’s A Gas!… 14 Ways To Save Money At The Pump… thanks for this post!
Comment by Max — February 11, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
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Comment by Tony — May 13, 2008 @ 8:50 am