|
| |
|
|  shannonogan | Apr 25, 11:01am | As fuel prices keep increasing while our salaries remain static, there ways we can save money on gas, at the gas station, and also protect the environment, as well. I found these tips offered by Sean Hickey & Others very helpful.
1. Obviously, Drive Less. Don't drive a car when you don't have to. Carpool, walk, take the bike, or take a bus. These will not only save gas, but also will help save our environment and may be better for your health. Do you really need to drive only a couple of blocks down the street?
2. Get a better air filter. More efficient brands of air filters cost a little more but will pay for themselves in most vehicles in fuel savings.
3. Get Low Resistance Tires. Some tires, such as Michelin Energy MX 4 Plus increase gas mileage.
4. Some gas stations offer membership benefits. There are also department and grocery stores that give discounts at the fuel pump when you use their store membership cards. Make sure you understand the benefits; getting a 5-cent discount on gas that consistently costs 10 cents more than the next guy isn't much of a deal.
5. Give your car a tune up. While properly maintaining your car won't actually save you money at the pump, it will save you gas. Using less gas saves you money. Have the oil changed, and have a certified mechanic give your engine a look over.
6. Check the web for deals. Web sites let you find the best deals in your area.
7. Buy a Diesel. Diesel cars can often get better mileage than comparable hybrids. Getting a Diesel car also allows for use of Biodiesel or even Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO/SVO) fuel.
8. 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 who use gas-saving cars. Federal deductions for using gas-saving cars can be as high as $2,000.00, but check before buying to see if they're still in effect. If you can't afford the growing number of hybrid cars out there, consider getting a regular car with good MPG (miles per gallon). In general, the smaller the car, the better the mileage.
9. Reduce your commute. Move closer to work, work closer to home, or take public transportation to your job. While you're considering spending all that money on a new hybrid or diesel vehicle to 'save money', you could move closer to your job, or get a job closer to your home. Then you will be able to walk or ride a bike on nice days, and spend a lot less time in the car when the weather isn't so nice. You may even be able to get rid of one family car. If you walk or ride almost all the time, it doesn't matter what sort of mileage your current car gets while it collects dust in the driveway.
10. Use the lowest recommended octane for your car. The lower octane gas is cheaper. Most modern cars are engineered to run most efficiently on lower octane fuel, and often recommend not using higher octane fuel. Check your owner's manual to be sure, as not all car engines should use lowest octane gas.
11. Mix octanes. In some areas, the lower octane may be too low for your car and the mid-grade or higher octane may be more than what you need. To avoid overpaying and still get the correct octane for your car you can mix the gas. For example, if your car takes 87 octane and the pumps have 85 octane and 89 octane, then when filling your car, fill half the tank with 85 octane and the other half with 89 octane and this will give you an equivalent of 87 octane plus it will save you money because the lower octane gas costs less.
12. Avoid idling. While idling, your car gets exactly 0 miles per gallon. Although starting the car used to use a lot of gas, it's now the same as idling for about 30 seconds. Idling to warm up is particularly bad, as the engine needs extra fuel to warm up. After start up, allow your car to idle 15-30 seconds, then drive conservatively until it reaches normal operating temperature. Park your car and go into the restaurant rather than idling in the drive-through. Idling with the air conditioning on also uses extra fuel.
Caution: Stopping and starting the engine frequently will cause extra wear. Don't stop the engine if you are going to idle for less than a minute.
Caution: In very cold environments, it is recommended to allow the vehicle to idle and warm up, rather than just start it and take off. You might save gas, but your engine oil won't do its job until it's fully liquid, so you'll spend more money on overhauls.
13. Combine trips. If you can do several short trips in one longer trip, you will save fuel and time. Make lists to avoid having to go back. Call ahead to avoid wasted trips.
14. Walk between stops. Once you get into town, some of your stops may be near each other. Park between some or all of them and walk.
15. Plan your trips in advance. This can prevent wasting fuel and wasting time. Plan to use alternative routes. Often back roads can prevent you from stopping at traffic lights and more importantly sitting in traffic jams.
16. Buy a GPS system. Global Positioning Systems help you navigate to find the fastest and shortest distance to your destination. A good GPS can save you time and fuel. Also the cost of GPS systems has really come down and you can get a good GPS system for around $350. Also, there are some creative ways you can use GPS systems to save money on gas. For example, you could use a GPS to calculate how far away you are from the next state and if you know fuel tax is less in the next state, just put enough fuel in to get you to the next state and fill up with gas where it is cheaper.
17. Check the tire air pressures weekly. Buy an inexpensive air pump and an accurate tire gauge (not a pencil gauge as they are not accurate). Keep all tires inflated to the pressure as recommended for your car. Go by the tire wall; the sticker on the door frame, fuel filler flap, or manual is for comfort, not fuel efficiency. Generally speaking, a slightly higher pressure will improve fuel mileage and handling, but too high will degrade traction and wear the tires rapidly.
18. Drive at a consistent speed. Avoid high acceleration and hard braking. Use cruise control when you can.
19. Maintain a safe following distance. Don't stick to the bumper of the car directly in front of you. You will brake more and accelerate more to keep that unnecessary and dangerous narrow gap. This also gives you a lot more room to play with when you are timing traffic signals. Likewise, ignore tailgaters. They will tailgate you whether you go the speed limit, or 100MPH over the speed limit. Allow them pass when it's convenient.
20. Slow down. Air resistance goes up as the square of velocity. The power consumed to overcome that air resistance goes up as the cube of the velocity. Rolling resistance is the dominant force below about 40 mph. Above that, every mph costs you mileage. Go as slow as traffic and your schedule will allow. Drive und |
|
| 
Sponsor |  digits | Apr 27, 12:35am |
Carpool to work. A lot of places have a bulletin board or a facilitator who takes names of people interested in carpooling so you can share rides for work.
Carpool to activities with people who live near you.
Walk or use your bike to get to the convenience store, library or school if not so far. [Not recommended for Grocery if you have a large haul!] You'll get some fresh air to boot.
Downgrade and use your smaller car for piddling about town if you have an SUV. You'll get better gas mileage and that means cheaper $$$.
Rideshare is something a lot of peope are checking. I would advise going with your instinct on this though. I had a relative advertise for a Rideshare on Craigslist and her instincts about people are not very good. Thank god no one called her.
Grocery Lists are almost imperative these days. It saves another trip to the store...ESPECIALLY if you live in a more rural are where the closest store is several miles away.
Check out the prices of candy bars, cigarettes, snacks, sodas, beer and other little items you may leave your house to go get without necessarily going to the grocery. Check along the smaller or unknown convenience stores closer to your house. I did this last week and found out that a convenience store less than 1 mile from my house was $.30 cheaper on [Hershey's with Almonds] a chocolate bar than the convenience store that is larger, cleaner, and newer but 6 miles away. I save gas as well as money on chocolate cravings when I want a bar and leave the house especially to go get one!
Those are my ideas. :) |
|
| 
Sponsor | |
| 
Sponsor |
| |
|
You need to Sign-up for StumbleUpon to post to this forum
| |
|
Frugal Cheapskate → Discussion