Article: 18 Tips for Saving Money on Gasoline

**Sara Noel** · 03-13-2004, 12:22 PM

Gas prices are on the rise again! Here are some tips to help you
conserve gas and save money as we approach summer gas prices.

1. Keep your car tuned up. Cars in poor running condition use
more gasoline.

2. Plan trips well to avoid unnecessary driving.

3. When you run your air conditioner you get much worse gas mileage. Use your air conditioner sparingly. If you have a lower setting, use it. Turn it on until the car gets cool, then turn it off and let the fan circulate the cool air. Never run your air conditioner with your windows open!

4. Keep your windows closed when traveling at high speeds. Open windows cause additional drag and lower your gas mileage. At high speeds, an open window can use more gas than many air conditioners (especially if they are on a low setting).

5. Check your tire pressure. Over-inflated tires can actually reduce your fuel efficiency, so don't overfill.

6. If at all possible, change your work start time to avoid gridlock. Stop and go traffic hurts your gas mileage.

7. Take unneeded items out of the car. You don't need to carry snow chains around with you in the summertime. Just make sure to put them back in when winter comes around.

8. Try not to idle your engine for long periods of time. If you are stuck in traffic and you don't think you are going to go anywhere in the next five minutes, you may want to turn your car off.

9. You no longer need to warm your car up for long periods of time, especially new cars. New cars are made to run when cold.

10. Don't travel at fast speeds in low gears unless you need the compression to slow down.

11. Try to drive the speed limit.

12. Try to accelerate slowly when leaving the stop light. It's not a competition with the driver in the lane next to you. The fastest person through the intersection just gets to spend more on gas.

13. No need to buy the highest priced gasoline. Most cars are built to run on regular unleaded. Check you owners manual or consult a mechanic. I have had many tell me that the more expensive gas is a waste of money.

14. Revving the engine needlessly wastes gas. There is no need to rev before you turn your vehicle off.

15. If at all possible, try to arrange car pools with co-workers to share the cost of commuting to work.

16. Walk, bike or run to your intended location whenever possible.

17. When the price is sky high, don't fill up. Wait for the price to go down before you fill up your tank. Filling up your tank when the price is peaking lets gas companies know that you are willing to pay ridiculous prices for gasoline.

18. And last, the biggest and most important step towards saving money on gas is always try to purchase vehicles that get good gas mileage. The difference between 20 miles-per-gallon and 40 miles-per-gallon is huge.

About the Author:
Fisher Swanson is a regular contributer to The ThriftyFun.com News. ThriftyFun publishes information about thrifty living. Send an email to thriftyfunnews-on@t... to subscribe to The ThriftyFun.com News. http://www.thriftyfun.com

**SewCrafty** · 03-13-2004, 12:41 PM

Great article, thanks Sara.

**homesteadmamma** · 03-13-2004, 12:49 PM

Great tips.

The only other one I would add would be dropping your speed. We usually travel at 90 kms rather than 100 and its has made a huge difference in the amount of gas we put in our vehicle. We have just learnt to allow the extra time to arrive at destination.

The only time we don't do this is when we travel No.1 highway because there is lots of trucks that travel that highway. On any other highway, we stick with 90 kms.

**canadian gardener** · 03-13-2004, 01:02 PM

good article!

I would add that if you are in the market for a new home, consider travel time.

We went from a home where dh had a long commute and we needed 2 cars because we didn't have good public transit, to a city where

we are 8minutes from dh's work (yay!) and 5 minutes to all major shopping (I can do all the bargains and STILL be only a minute or two away from the next store in line) the doctor, vet, church and the second hand bookstores.

The only things that take a long trip are 2 good friends, the library, and the day old bread outlet. The last 2 are close together so I try to make that trip all in one.

**canadian gardener** · 03-13-2004, 01:09 PM

forgot another important point.

use your phone.

I called the fabric store for example and found out that they had dressmakers carbon on special, and they set a package aside for me, which my friend was able to pick up for me as she was going in that day. She gave it to me later that week when she was up my way, and I repaid her in cash so she wasn't bothered with cashing a cheque.

Find out if they have what you need, at the price you want, and save yourself a fruitless trip. It helps if they set it aside for you so the last one isn't sold to someone just as you pull into the parking lot either.

Calling around to check for the best deals makes sense too, rather than driving from store to store.

And last of all, phone visits are almost as nice as personal visits over cups of tea, something that Strawberry and I try to do now that I live a 6 hour car trip away in another city.

but even here, with the 2 friends who live 1/8 of a tank of gas away (that's what I use when I visit them!) in opposite directions, I do more phone visiting to keep in touch.

**Katybird** · 03-14-2004, 01:33 PM

Thanks for the tips ladies. The price of gas is so high that I can use all the helpful hints that I can get. On the days that both DH and I work, we put a total of 100+ miles on our vehicles collectively. We can't carpool because of the difference in our schedules so we are forced to drive to seperate cars. I drive a total of 350 miles commuting to and from work per pay period so I can always use any help with saving money.