ALT-5 What you can do to Save Money on Gas
You can save money on gas. It isn't even as hard as you think. Most of us don't think about the cost of gas until we are at the pump. However, we can save a lot of money if we just stop every now and then to think about what is most economical. Here are a few thoughts on how to lower your cost of gas.
Know how much you spend on gas. I know most people can quote the price per gallon of gas, but most people do not know how much they spend on gas per month. If you take the time to either record your spending, or even just look at your credit card statement for gas purchases, you will start to get an idea of how much you spend. If you don't know what you are spending, then it will be hard to cut costs, or at least to know how well you are doing. Also, it helps to know what kind of gas mileage your car gets. I don't mean what it should get, but rather what it does get. Just fill your tank and record the miles on your odometer. Then the next time you fill up, divide the miles you drove on that tank by the gallons it took to fill the tank. That is your car's gas mileage. If you can do that a couple times, you will be able to get an average. Knowing your mileage, and knowing your spending will help you keep your costs down because you will be conscious of your spending.
Drive your car less. If you drive less, you will buy less gas, and that means spending less money. Try to ride a bike, or walk if you can. People really underestimate the miles they drive for little trips that could be walked or biked. I started riding my bike to work, and not only saved gas, but lost 17 pounds! I was just trying to save on gas, but the weight loss was certainly a welcome side effect. If you can carpool with someone, you will be able to minimize driving by yourself, which will save about half on your gas if you carpool with one other person, and even more if you choose to carpool with two or three people. That way you can also switch cars occasionally to minimize wear and tear on your vehicle, take advantage of insurance savings for less driving, and make use of high occupancy vehicle lanes in urban areas.
Drive your car better. I know going fast is fun, but it costs you money. Most people think the only money-wasting consequence of driving fast and aggressively is the cost of a ticket, and then perhaps a raise in insurance costs. Those are consequences, and may be enough of a reason to slow down. However, those are not the most direct way of throwing your money away because of speed. When you go fast, you literally use more gas. Fuel is needed to power your car, and the more power needed by the engine the more fuel is needed. Going the speed limit will increase your gas mileage by several percentage points. Accelerating slowly will help you even more. Most people hit the pedal hard when the light turns green. When you do that you use a huge amount of gas. The engine has to work hardest when taking a still car and making it move. The less you press on that pedal, the more you will save. Try to use cruise control when you can. It will limit your speed, and make the pressure on the pedal more consistent.
Drive a better car. I don't mean that you have to go out now and buy a new car. The car you have now can be better. If the car needs an oil change, make sure to do it. If it needs a tune up, that can increase your gas mileage when it is completed. Fill your tires to the maximum capacity. If you have a motorcycle, drive that when you can. Large motorcycles get approximately forty miles to the gallon, and small ones can get upwards of eighty. No that is typo. Small motorcycles can get eighty to ninety miles to the gallon. Mopeds can get even more miles to the gallon, and many do not even need to be insured. When you can drive the sedan instead of the muscle car or truck you own, do that. And yes, when it is time to buy a new car, get one with better fuel efficiency. Remember to factor in the costs of gas, and you may find that the car you think is too expensive will save you money because of all the gas you won;t have to buy.
If you can make a conscious effort to drive better and drive less, you can save a lot of money on gas. Most people would not throw cash out the window while driving, but that is essentially what you are doing when you don't consider the costs of your car choices. Try a few of these suggestions this month, and by next month you will realize that you have been buying too much gas.
