The Save Money Blog

Posts Tagged ‘gas-savings’

I love the picture below. Don't you with the prices were the same as when they were using these types of gas pumps? The prices always seem to be up when I cruise in for a gas fill up. Here are some general tips you can use to save money next time you have to fill up at your local gas station.

1. Find a credit card that offers cash back or has a rewards program and use it for your gas purchases. I recently just switched to a credit card that utilizes Air Miles so I can get some swag from their rewards catalogue.

2. Find a gas station that offers membership savings for using their credit cards. I know of a petro station nearby that offers a couple of cents on the litre if you use their special credit card to make purchases.

3. Check the internet for local gas prices and compare stations to see if you can find one that has cheaper prices.

4. Turn off the AC when driving around in the city. You will save gas by not running your cars air conditioning. You just have to sweat it out a bit. On the highway however having open windows might cost you more in gas because of the drag. You might want to have the a/c on in this case.

5. It's okay to use the cheaper priced gas. This day in age who would pay for premium? It's just money down the drain.

6. Get in the habit of checking your tire pressure. Most stations offer a free air pump for customers. Just check your tire pressure on your tire and give it quick check once a month. You will save money.

7. Clean the garbage out of your car, especially heaving items. A lighter car uses less gas. You aren't a transport so stop hauling heavy loads.

8. Avoid idling. 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. Our town has a law that cars can't idle for more that a minutes.

I thought I would make a blog post based on a radio commercial I heard today. I would pay props to it but I can't recall what the station was or what the group was that was behind it.

The next time you are at the gas station or getting your oil changed make sure you check your tire pressure. You would not believe how much you can save by having properly inflated tires. The commercial stated that you can save hundreds of dollars a year in gas or fuel costs just by keeping your car tires inflated to the proper level. Of course this would be based on how much driving you did on a weekly basis but it stated something to the tune of $500 a year the average driver could save in gas costs. That number is just off the charts and an easy way to save money.

The other side to the story was that you save big money because your tires last longer. Trust me, tires are not cheap. We just had our Jeep done at Costco and while they had the best deal on tires it was still a pretty good hit to the pocket book. Doing anything you can to make your tires last longer will save you money.

Check your manual or check on the outside of the tire for the number that your tire should be inflated to. Most gas stations have a pump. When you press the pump into your tire the guage will tell you what number you are at, just fill it to the number it should be. Easy as that.

Well it took long enough but when I filled up this week gas was finally below .90 cents a litre. I hadn't seen prices like that for a long time. I hope it keeps up the monthly gas bill was becoming a bit of a killer. But if the high gass prices taught us anything over the past year was that we have to change our habits and we can change out habits and save money.

So lets not give up on those things that we did to save money when the prices were insane. Not that they are coming back down you can see that you can save money all the time but just switching up your driving habits or arrangements just a bit.

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Looks like a little bit of good news on the gas front. Prices have been continually falling over the past few weeks. According to CNN, they have dropped below $3 for the first time since January.

"The average price of unleaded regular fell to $2.95 a gallon, down 3.7 cents, according to the Daily Fuel Gauge Report issued by motorist group AAA. Prices have fallen more than 30 cents a gallon in the last week and 90 cents, or 23%, in the last 32 days. The current national average is $1.16, or 28%, off the record high price of $4.11 that AAA reported July 17"

At the very least we should all have a little extra in our wallets as we head into the Christmas season. Hopefully gas prices will continue to drop off.

Source

So it comes down again to spending a little to save a little. The tires on my Mustang have just about had it. The tires are as bald as my head, they need to be inflated often and have no traction whatsoever. The result would be poor gas mileage. Under inflated tires alone can decrease your gas mileage as much as ten percent. Now that is a lot.

I shopped around and have become intersted in Bullet wheels. A throw back to the Steve McQueen movie Bullit. These tires are sharp are would give my mustang a sweet retro look and feel. This style of wheel is generally wider and more stable than your average type of wheel. The benefit would obviously be better cornering and improved road grip.

Here are some tips to get the best gas mileage out of your tires. Check the pressure at least once a month. Get in the habit of going to a gas station with a free air machine or grab a cheap pressure checker from your hardware store. Keep your tires balanced. Check often for even tire wear. Uneven tire wear usually means an alignment problem. If you are going to replace one tire you might want to consider replacing all four. If one has a problem with wear or tread depth chances are it's not alone.

How about saving $120 a week just by giving up your driving freedoms and car pooling? Hey, if you are looking to save money then this is a no brainer. CNN just featured an article which really drives home just how important car pooling can be in today's era of outrageous gas prices.

"Robert Gilliland didn't think much about carpooling until gas prices got out of control. Now, he's happy to trade his motoring freedom for $120 in weekly savings. Gilliland found one rider through the classifieds Web site Craigslist and another using the carpool-matching service eRideShare.com."

Although car pooling might not be for everyone, if you hours are not consistent or if you have to stay late from time to time and there are also safety concerns. If can hook up with co-workers, neighborous or friends, all the better.

Read the Source Article, if you are interested in carpooling you will find it quite interesting.

It's come down to this, people are turning to Scooters to fight the high cost of gas. With gas prices hitting $4 – $5 a gallon motor bike and scooter sales have been reported to be brisk this spring. Why not? If you can get 75-120 miles per gallon it makes perfect sense. Low end Scooters can be picked up for as low as $800 and range up to $8,000 for a top of the line model. Certainly something nice could be found for $2,000. Reports indicate that they will pay for themselves in fuel saving over the first to three years that you own one.

If you live in an area with nice weather and have a small commute to work if might be something think about this summer. It beats filling up your car to get you to work. And who cars if your friends see you riding it.

Source

A quick scan around some of the majors news sites on the web today I saw a few articles talking about proposed electricity rates coming this summer. Not only are you paying more at the pumps for gas but the high cost of fuel is also going to mean higher electricity rates. "Dominion Virginia Power announced yesterday that it would seek permission to raise electricity rates 18 percent this summer to make customers pay for part of the increased cost of coal and other fuels." The message should be clear to us. Now more than ever we have to change our habits to cut down on our hydro bills. It's scary to think just how much of our pay check will be going to gas for our cars and our utility bills. There are a number of tips on how to save on your utility bills and car costs within this blog. Please have a read over them and feel free to suggest other tips that you may come across.

Source

With the price of just about everything going up this year it's more important than ever to stretch your vacation dollar as far as you can. Rising gas costs are reason enough to try and search out the best deal. Well there might be some help. This summer everything from large hotel chains to small bed and breakfasts are offering up gas incentives to get your travel dollar. This is good news for us.

"Oddly enough, the pain at the pump may help some summer travelers actually save on their getaways. From big-name hotels to tiny bed & breakfasts, the lodging industry has started rolling out incentives that help guests offset some of the costs of hitting the road. While some properties are offering prepaid gas cards (ranging from $10 to $50), others are extending cash bonuses or reduced room rates to guests who drive a hybrid vehicle, or take a train or bus to their destination."

As the article warns be careful and check out your travel destination carefully. Just because you get a $25 gas card at one place may not save you money if you have to pay for parking.

You can read the rest of the article at the Source as well as see some of the the gas incentives they have already scouted out for you. 

You can start to save gas immediately! Raise your cars MPG and save on gas prices using these 7 tips! Save money on gas starting today.

1) Remove Excess Weight: Save gas by taking all that useless junk out of your car. 100 pounds can reduce your cars MPG by 2%.

2) Driving Fast: Speeding lowers your cars gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and 5% around town. Save money on gas by slowing down a little, avoiding jack-rabbit starts and coast to red lights.

3) Gas Cards: You can save on gas prices because many gas cards offer a 10% to 15% discount. If a gallon of gas costs you $2.75, then that gas card could save you as much as 41 cents per gallon!

4) OD: Use your cars overdrive gear whenever you can. Lowering your rpm’s uses less fuel and will save money on gas.

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