Saving Money On Gas

Posted by: DeputyHeadmistress on Friday, July 22nd, 2011

I'm going to assume we all know the usual things- limit the driving you have to do, walk when you can, don't cruise the parking lot looking for the closest parking space (I'm horrible about this), combine errands and trips so you're not starting the car up more times than you absolutely have to when it's been sitting stationary for a long time; combining errands with friends so you can carpool, drive carefully- no speeding or sudden accelerations and stops, keep to a steady pace, no luggage racks, try not to load the trunk down, etc.

You can also try these sites to find the best gas prices in town (the sentence immediately below each hyperlink is from the website description:
GasBuddy.com - Find Low Gas Prices in the USA and Canada
GasBuddy lets you search for Gas Prices by city, state, zip code, with listings for all cities in the USA and Canada. Updated in real-time...
GasPriceWatch - Power to the People at the Pump

Find the cheapest gas prices in your neighborhood.
Local Fuel Prices | Find Local Gas Prices in your area Search and Compare fuel prices in real time! FuelPrices.net offers you instant gas prices by updating fuel prices every minute as we receive updates.

If you have a fancy phone, a couple of the above sites have apps you get on your phone updating the best gas prices.  Some GPS systems also will tell you the best gas prices.
When we have to  run errands,  we keep our eyes open for gas prices, and fill up when we see a great price.  I've noticed that gas stations near major highway exits are usually higher than gas stations a few blocks further into town, but this isn't always true, and perhaps it's a regional thing.
If you have a Kroger's near you, perhaps one of the offers they make for saving on gas will be useful to you.  Other grocery stores and gas stations in your area may offer similar programs, or discounts if you have a store card.
Sometimes it makes sense to use a credit card for gas purchases, too, as some cards give a percentage of your purchases back.  Just be sure you can pay off the card each month.
What's your strategy for saving money on gas?

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5 Responses to “Saving Money On Gas”

Roxie Says:
July 22nd, 2011 at 7:58 am

You can save .10 a gallon on gas at Walmart or Sam’s club with a gift card from Walmart or Sam’s club.
I brought a card at Walmart for $200.00 and it is used for the month. It saves us .10 a gallon on each fill up. We can reload the card when we need to. I like that this is not a CREDIT card.

Debs Says:
July 22nd, 2011 at 1:09 pm

One I know i’m not very good at is to limit the amount of weight that’s in the car. Empty things out of the boot/trunk if you don’t need them. The more in the car, the more fuel you need to move it

Suzanne with Laughing Wallet Says:
July 24th, 2011 at 8:00 am

I have a whole page of tips for saving gas on my website, LaughingWallet.com: http://www.laughingwallet.com/save-gas.html. One of my favorites is to park in the shade if you can. Not only does it make the car more comfortable when you get back in, but it saves you gas/money because you don’t lose as much gas through evaporation, and your air conditioning doesn’t have to work as hard to cool the car down to a comfortable temperature.

Shannon Says:
July 25th, 2011 at 8:59 am

Thanks for the reminder to empty my trunk, I have a tendency to stash things there and forget until I need to make space.

I always look for shade in a parking lot, I never thought of it as a gas angle, I do it because of my kids, same reason I put light colored towels over all the car seats, it just makes reloading the car nicer. Now I have twice the incentive to walk a little extra in the parking lot and just aim for the shade.

Shannon Says:
July 25th, 2011 at 9:02 am

Oh, I forgot my tip, I don’t wait until I am empty to get gas, I top off if I see a good price it doesn’t save a ton, but I don’t have to fill a whole tank at premium prices, it gives me room to get gas when and where I want, not when I have to where ever that ends up being.

 

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