Save Cash When Gassing Up

Written by Doris Donnerman (last updated February 21, 2009)

Have you noticed how it seems that the price of gas seems to be rising daily, with no relief in sight? Considering that most of us need vehicles in order to do such things like go to work, take the kids to school, or basically just live life, what are we supposed to do to combat this growing problem? Well, here is your answer; just use some of these simple and easy suggestions and you will soon be able to start saving more money on gas than you ever thought possible.

  • Maintain Your Vehicle. Doing such things as changing the air filter, replacing spark plugs, properly inflating your tires, tuning your engine regularly and changing the oil in your car can all have a dramatic impact on the mileage that you get out of your car.
  • Tighten or Replace Your Gas Cap. You would be surprised at how much of your gasoline disappears due to evaporation from loose or missing gas caps. According to such agencies as the Car Care Council, at least 147 million gallons of gas evaporate each year because of this. So, to save money you should make sure you tighten your gas cap fully or replace it if it is missing.
  • Plan Your Day. Plan the trips that you take in your car during the day. Take the time to actually plan out the route that you are going to use during the day for your errands. This alleviates a significant amount of wasted gas from sitting in traffic and needless backtracking.
  • Carpool. One of the easiest ways to save money on gas is to spread the cost around. Try starting a carpool with others that you work with. By having as few as three other people share your ride and having them chip in on the gas, you'll reduce your total gas expenditures by 75%. Stop and think about that for a moment, if it costs you $40 to fill your tank, but you have three other people to help out, your expenditure has been reduced to only around $10. That is enough money to be able to go out to eat at a decent restaurant each fill-up.
  • Teleconference. If you have to have meetings with clients or other people, try to conference over the phone or by Internet as often as possible. The technology has existed for years to just have phone conferences. Companies such as Apple and Microsoft have developed software that allow you to do just about everything that you would do at an in-person meeting over the Internet, including being able to see one another. The cost for such software may initially seem prohibitive, but in comparison to the yearly cost in gas (which is constantly increasing), the software quickly pays for itself.

Author Bio

Doris Donnerman

Doris is a jack of all trades, writing on a variety of topics. Her articles have helped enlighten and entertain thousands over the years. ...

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