Found Money:
How To Generate Quick Cash In An
Emergency
How to
Save Money on Gas
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.
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