How to Save Money at the Gas Pump by Fred Jenkins - HTML preview

Introduction

With the rising cost of gas prices…and no end in sight…everyone wants to

 

save as much money at the gas pump as they possibly can. You may not be

 

able to control the price of gas but you can change certain habits and follow

 

some basic guidelines to help you save as much money as possible.

 

Rising gas and oil prices each year mean that the average driver, who

 

travels approximately 15,000 miles each year in a car that gets about 20 miles

 

to the gallon, will pay more at the end of the year for his gas costs.

 

Every time that the price of gas goes up at the fuel pump by 10 cents

 

the cost of the average drivers gas consumption will rise by about $75 over a

 

year.

 

This e-book will give you some tips, guidelines, and basic advice for

 

helping you keep reduce the amount of money that you spend each week filling

 

up your vehicle.

 

This e-book will also provide you with basic gasoline and vehicle

 

information as well as provide you with numerous tips and suggestions for

 

saving money at the gas pumps as well driving more efficiently. We’ll cover subjects such as:

 

• Average gas prices

 

• Fuel economy

 

• Using the Internet to find cheap gas

 

• Where and how to buy your gas

 

• Where to find the lowest gas prices

 

• The importance of maintaining your vehicle

 

• Taking care of the tires on your vehicle

 

• Gas saving products

 

• The importance of EPA fuel economy ratings

 

• Tips on what to look for in your next car.

 

• Winter driving tips.

 

• Warm weather driving tips.

 

• Commuting encouragement.

 

• How to drive smarter.

 

• Current state average gas costs.

 

• Useful links to websites.

 

After you have finished reading this e-book you’ll have all the tools and

 

information that you need to start saving money today. There will be some ideas that may not apply to you at this time but when

 

you purchase your next vehicle, you will find that you have access to smart

 

money saving tips for reducing the amount of money that you spend driving

 

your vehicle.

 

The information in this e-book is current with gas prices and statistics

 

today. Some of the information will vary for you personally depending on what

 

type of vehicle that you are driving, as well as the age of your car.

 

If you are driving a newer vehicle you’ll find that your car is already

 

extremely fuel efficient. However you can still apply most of the gas saving

 

tips found in this book to your own pocketbook.

 

1. Regional Gas Price Averages

 

 

• Pacific Coast = $2.14

 

• Mountain West = $1.92

 

• Southwest = $1.81

 

• Southeast = $1,87

 

• Great Lakes = $1.85

 

• Midwest = $1.81

 

Source:http://www.fuelcostcalculator.com/

 

2. Energy Technology and Fuel Economy

 

Only 15 percent of the fuel that you put into your car gets used and the

 

rest of the energy is lost for many reasons. It is important to maintain your car

 

and have an understanding of how your vehicle operates.

 

If this information is foreign to you, you may consider taking a basic

 

mechanics course to gain some knowledge.

 

The more that you understand about the way that your vehicle runs, and

 

what it takes to properly maintain it, the more success you will have when it

 

comes to understanding what steps to take to start saving money.

 

If only 15 percent of the fuel that you pay for gets used that means that

 

you need to be absolutely certain that the condition in which your car is

 

running is as efficient as it can be. In addition to a mechanics course you may be able to find fuel saving

 

tips that are available through a small mini-course at your local college.

 

3. Shop around

 

You can try to shop around in your local area for the cheapest gas that

 

you can find but you shouldn’t go too far out of your way to try and get that

 

best price unless you’re already traveling in that direction anyway.

 

Once you start driving around looking for the gas pump that can beat the

 

one in your neighborhood you start to increase the amount of money that you

 

spend on your driving expenses.

 

Since your goal is to save money you would be defeating the purpose by

 

driving around for too long. Studies done by the AAA indicate that it will cost

 

you approximately 51.7 cents per mile to drive your car this year.

 

Keep in mind that the IRS will only allow a deduction of 36 cents per

 

mile so driving too far to get the cheapest gas isn’t always cost efficient.

 

While you are driving to a location that you would normally be going

 

anyway you can of course keep your eyes open for the cheapest gas. 4. Multitask your shopping expeditions

 

If you know of a certain gas station that consistently sells lower priced

 

gas and it’s out of your way you might want to consider making a weekly or bi

 

weekly journey to this destination.

 

This way you can take a day to get gas, buy your groceries, and take a

 

walk in the park within a different area of the city where you live. In effect,

 

what you are doing is multitasking and saving money on your fuel costs at the

 

same time.

 

5. Paying for your gas the smart way

 

One of the ways that you can save money at the gas pump is by using a

 

gasoline credit card. When you have a gas card you’ll be able to get 5 or 10

 

percent rebate back on the purchase of your gas.

 

This can amount to as much as $75 to $300 each year. If you have

 

multiple drivers in your family you’ll want to make sure that every car driving

 

person carries a gasoline credit card with them so that you can take advantage

 

of multiple gas sales. Many gasoline companies are joining up with other retailers to give you

 

numerous savings at the gas pump.

 

You’ll be able to not only save on your gas purchase, but you’ll be able

 

to earn points towards your next purchase with participating retailers.

 

6. Buy your gas in the morning or evening

 

Gasoline becomes denser in colder temperatures. Gas pumps are set to

 

measure the volume of the fuel that you pump and not the density.

 

This means that if you fill up your gas tank in the cooler morning

 

temperatures, or in the colder evening hours, that you’ll be getting better gas

 

price economy. Try to fill up your gas tank later in the evening to avoid the

 

rush of day hours.

 

7. Use the Internet

 

Using the Internet to find the lowest gas prices is a great way to have all

 

the information that you need before getting into your car to fuel up.

 

There are several sites on the Internet that will help you find the

 

cheapest gas in your area. One of these sites is GasBuddy. GasBuddy has all the information for

 

both the United States and Canada to help you find the lowest gas price on the

 

day that you are filling up your gas tank.

 

GasBuddy has over 170 websites that it uses to get you the recent best

 

prices.

 

The price of gas is always changing so having the latest information is

 

going to save you money over a period of time.

 

There are times that the price of gas will vary by up to 20 percent within

 

a short radius so it’s important to you to stay current with the lowest price of

 

gas.

 

The information provided by GasBuddy is quite comprehensive. For

 

example, after indicating that you live in the Washington state area you are

 

directed to sites for Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane.

 

Choosing Seattle gives you the following information: (1) lowest price in

 

the last 48 hours, (2) gas station name and address, and (3) time the last price

 

was posted. When you use GasBuddy you’ll be able to save that much more each

 

time you buy gas for your vehicle.

 

www.GasBuddy.com/

 

8. Multi-purchases

 

There are many other ways that you can use the Internet to help you

 

save money at the gas pumps. Check out coupons in your local area that offer

 

money off certain items, like convenience food.

 

If you purchase your gas at a service pump that has a convenience store

 

attached then you can use your money-saving coupons for convenience

 

purchases.

 

Although you are not saving money on your actual gas purchase, just by

 

combining your convenience purchase with you fuel purchase you will find

 

some money saving benefit at shopping and fueling up at a certain gas station.

 

9. Keep a fuel log

 

Invest in a small notebook and pen for your car and write down all your

 

gas purchases and mileage that you travel. Start to develop the habit of knowing exactly how much that you are

 

spending in fuel costs.

 

You can also use your fuel log to keep track of the best places to buy

 

your gasoline. You want to see a pattern develop so that you can track your

 

gas spending habits and then make changes if needed.

 

If you are buying a used vehicle privately, or from a dealer, find out if

 

there is an owner’s manual so that you can find out how to take care of your

 

vehicle.

 

If you’re lucky, there may be fuel log of some kind from the previous car

 

owner.

 

10. Fuel economy and Co₂emissions

 

The average fuel economy of new cars and trucks in the United States

 

and Canada has increased by over 130 percent for cars and 75 percent for

 

trucks.

 

This means a great savings to you at the gas pump since you are driving a

 

much more efficient vehicle that you were several years ago. This doesn’t mean that you can ignore the cost saving tips in this e-book.

 

What it does mean is that you can achieve even greater savings!

 

The following charts support the efficiency of vehicles today:

 

Source: www.gm.com/company/gmability/sustainability/reports/04/400_products/473_eff_per.html

 

11. Keep an eye on your gas consumption

 

The more aware you are of the amount of fuel that you use the more you

 

can do to try to reduce your gas costs.

 

If you notice that your gas efficiency is decreasing it could be an

 

indicating factor that your car needs servicing.

 

Make weekly comparisons with your fuel log that you keep in you car to

 

see how much your gas consumption is going up and your mileage per gallon is

 

going down.

 

If you are finding that you are constantly seeing less and less

 

performance from your car and spending more for gas at the fuel pump then

 

you’ll know that you need to take action so that you can start seeing a savings

 

in your gas economy rather than a constant deficit.

 

12. Buy gas from a busy station

 

Try to buy your gas from a gas station that is consistently busy and

 

therefore has its underground tanks filled on a regular basis. Gas stations that are slow will have gas that has been sitting in

 

underground tanks for longer periods of time, leading to gas contamination.

 

This contamination can mean that the gas you are purchasing is less

 

powerful than fresh gas and will decrease your fuel economy.

 

Try to time your visits to busier gas stations at those busy times but

 

make sure that you’re not in a rush to get anywhere.

 

If you’re late for an appointment you may find yourself giving up in

 

frustration if you have to wait to purchase your gas and then find yourself

 

moving over to a gas station that has a higher gas cost for the day.

 

13. Turn the nozzle

 

When you have finished filling up your gas tank try turning the nozzle of

 

the hose a full 180 degrees.

 

This will drain a bit more gas into your tank; in some cases up to an

 

entire half cup that would otherwise be a bonus to the next gas customer.

 

Once you get into the habit of turning the hose you’ll find yourself doing

 

it without thinking. That extra half cup that you get each time that you fill your gas tank can add up to a lot of extra gas at the end of the year that you

 

never have known about.

 

14. High octane gas

 

For most cars these days, buying higher octane gas is a waste of your

 

money. Regular unleaded has approximately 87 octane already and is fine for

 

your vehicle.

 

By avoiding buying high octane gas you’ll be saving a large amount of

 

money over a period of time.

 

High octane gas is always more expensive at the gas pumps so the next

 

time that you feel guilty for filling up your SUV with regular gas you can be

 

assured that no harm will come to your vehicle.

 

Octane is simply a measurement of how difficult it is to ignite the gas in

 

your car and has nothing to do with the quality of the gas. If you are

 

experiencing engine pings, rattles, or knocks you can switch to high octane gas.

 

However, you shouldn’t be experiencing any of those knocks and rattles

 

if you are keeping your vehicle maintained and making sure that you don’t miss

 

those scheduled maintenance checkups. If you are driving a new model car you definitely shouldn’t be hearing

 

any pings or rattles and if you are you should take your vehicle to a mechanic.

 

15. Avoid topping off

 

Try to avoid “topping off” at the gas pumps. When you purchase just a

 

bit of gas at the gas station the pump doesn’t have enough time to really

 

activate, resulting in short bursts of fuel that may short change you from the

 

amount of gas that you are purchasing.

 

The best time to replenish your gas tank is when you have half a tank or

 

less left in your vehicle, or when you find a gas price that you just can’t afford

 

to miss.

 

16. Avoid running your gas tank too close to empty

 

Try not to drive your car when the gas gauge is on empty.

 

You may think that you using very little gas when your car is on empty,

 

but you are in fact using more gas because your vehicle is running less

 

efficiently as it tries to accelerate and decelerate in a normal fashion.

 

Keep your gas level above the quarter tank mark if at all possible. 17. Avoid buying gasohol

 

You should never purchase gasohol for your car since it contains only

 

two-thirds of the energy of gasoline.

 

This means that you would need to buy much more gasohol to go the

 

same distance on a tank of gasoline.

 

Gasohol is a mixture of ethanol (alcohol made from grain) and gas, and is

 

used by some farmers to help cut the amount of pollution in the air.

 

Even if you are traveling and it seems like the only fuel choice for miles

 

is gasohol try to avoid buying this type of adapted fuel.

 

18. Avoid buying gas from a just replenished gas station

 

When a gas station has its underground tanks filled, the particles at the

 

bottom of the tank are stirred up.

 

These particles can become mixed in with the gas that you are putting

 

into your car, which can lead to efficiency problems. The particles can clog

 

your fuel filter, causing your car to stall and start with some difficulty. If the gas station that you have decided to stop at has the lowest gas

 

price in your area you may want to think about taking the time to come back at

 

a later time rather than stopping at the next gas station that is offering a

 

higher price for gas.

 

19. Keep your car well tuned

 

One of the best things that you can do is to keep your vehicle as well

 

tuned as you possibly can.

 

This means taking note of those regularly scheduled maintenance

 

checkups that you so often ignore.

 

Studies indicate that a car with an engine that is poorly tuned will

 

increase the amount of fuel consumption from 10 to 20 percent.

 

Information found at www.fueleconomy.gov/ shows that when you tune

 

up a car that is due for a checkup or one that has emissions problems, you can

 

increase the gas mileage by up to 4.1 percent.

 

Source: www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.shtml

 

Pay attention to the signals that your car is giving you. When the red

 

message light on your dashboard lights up letting you know that it’s time to

 

“check your gauges” make sure that you have your car looked at as soon as you

 

can.