Cut Your Gasoline Costs And Save Some Bucks!

Most of us drive our cars every day and fill the tanks with gas much too often. With gas prices fluctuating wildly over the last couple of years, it’s clear that anything we can do to cut our gas costs will save us big bucks in the long run.

Some things, like driving slower, are common sense solutions, but there are a more options that are less-known, and this article addresses those.

Here are eight simple ways to drive your way to cost savings….

1.  Tighten your gas cap….

Always ensure that your cap clicks into place. This means that the cap is tight and your gasoline won’t evaporate. Gasoline costs too much to allow it to evaporate into the air. Also, a friend of mine took her SUV to the dealership because the “Service Engine Soon” light was one. It was caused by the gasoline cap not being clicked into place. So, not tightening her gasoline cap cost her much more than just evaporated gasoline.

2.  Avoid premium gasoline….

Most cars are engineered to run perfectly fine on regular gasoline. Paying more the premium is like pouring your money down the drain.

3.  Purchase your gasoline at the coolest time of the day….

Usually early morning or night purchases are best. When it’s warm, gasoline expands and gas pumps charge by volume, so you will get more gasoline for the money if you fill up when it’s cooler.

4.  Fill your tank less….

Fill up only when you have a quarter tank or less of gasoline (or if you notice gas prices have dropped). The lighter your car, the better gasoline mileage it will get, and a tank of gasoline is very heavy, to drive more when your car is lighter and resist the temptation to fill up at a half-tank. Again, the exception to this rule is if you notice that the price has dropped and you want to take advantage of that.

5.  Don’t idle….

Idling for a minute or more wastes a lot of gasoline. It costs less to turn off the engine and restart the car if you are waiting for more than a minute.

6.  Shut off the air conditioning….

Air conditioning uses gasoline. If you shut off the air conditioning 5 or 10 minutes before you arrive at your destination, you will save a little money. In the Spring and Fall seasons, turn off the air conditioning and use the “outside air” option on your system, if available.

7.  Don’t warm up….

It’s unnecessary to warm up your car for more than 30 seconds on cold days, and it’s a big gas waster. The only things you accomplish by warming up your car are air pollution and wasting money. So, let your car warm up while you are putting on your seat belt, and that will be sufficient.

8.  Steer away from left turns….

Waiting to turn left wastes gasoline, and left turns are more dangerous than right turns. UPS drivers are trained to take routes that avoid left turns, and you should, too.

So, with a little extra attention you can cut your gasoline costs and help the environment as well.

Happy driving!