11. Vehicle
If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. -Earl Wilson
1) Clean your car’s air filter: A clean air filter can improve your gas mileage by up to 7%, saving you more than $100 for every
10,000 miles you drive in an average vehicle. Plus, cleaning your
air filter is easy to do in just a few minutes (properly follow the instructions for it).
2) Go for reliability and fuel efficiency when buying a car: A reliable and fuel efficient car will save you thousands over the long haul. Let’s say you drive a vehicle for 80,000 miles. If you choose 25 miles per gallon car over 15 miles per gallon car, you save 2,133 gallons of gas. At $3 a gallon, that’s $6,400 in savings right there. Reliability can pay the same dividends. Do the research – it will pay off for you.
3) Air up your tires: For every two PSI that all of your tires are below the recommended level, you lose 1% on your gas mileage. Most car tires are below the normal level, so that means by just airing up your tires, you can improve your gas mileage. It’s easy, too. Just read your car’s manual to see what the recommended tire pressure is. Fill them up to where they should be. It’s basically free gas!
4) Take public transportation: If the city’s transit system is available near you, take it to work/play instead of driving your car. It’s far cheaper and you don’t have to worry about parking your vehicle.
5) Carpool: Is there anyone that lives near you who works at or near the same place that you do? Why not ride together, alternating drivers each day? You can halve the wear and tear and gas costs for your car.
6) Do basic home/auto maintenance regularly: Instead of just waiting until something breaks to deal with it, develop a monthly maintenance schedule where you go around your home/car and perform a bit of maintenance where it’s needed. This little activity, taking you just an hour or two a month, will keep things from breaking down and help you see problems before they become disasters.
7) When bu