As gas prices near $4 per gallon in the USA and close to $1.50 in Canada, there has never been a better time to save gas (let’s not forget money) and this helps reduce our contribution to global warming. Because this is such a “hot” topic and so many people keep talking about it I decided to post a few tricks on how to save on gas consumption.
I’ve read by using these tricks you can save up to $100 per month on fuel consumption. Of course this number all depends on the amount of driving you do.
1- Use public transportation. It’s time to ride the bus again and to take the metro. If you hate public transportation you can ride your bike to work or even walk.
2- Carpool. Find coworkers who live close to you. Offer to give 10$ per week of gas money. This will cost you less than going to work by yourself and give you someone to talk to while heading at the office. You can even use carpooling to do your groceries and other routine shopping.
3- Combine errands and walk between stops. Try to do your groceries and find a pharmacy close by (walking distance ?) I believe now Wal-Mart actually combines both type of stores! With the new concepts of supermalls where all the big retailers rent space right beside each other it would be smart to drive to one place and stay there for all your purchases. Also read my article about 6 Simple Tricks On How To Save Money, where I talk about looking on the web first to find deals before going to stores.
4- The faster you drive the more gas you are burning. Remember to drive slower, as over 55 miles per hour your gas consumption per extra mile is greater than below that speed. A rapid acceleration is a big gas-burner too, I know it’s fun to drive fast, especially after that red light but is it worth the extra cost? Cruise control on the highway is another great way to lower your long distance travel bill.
5- Keep your tires well-inflated. Inflated tires help you get better gas mileage by reducing the friction tires can create on the road. This is probably the oldest trick in the book.
6- Keep your vehicle light. Remove any unnecessary weight from the car. The more load you carry the heavier it is and then it only costs more to move around. Also try to remove anything that can create drag with your car. (eg: bike racks or ski racks)
7- Parking in shadow will reduce the evaporation of gasoline from your tank, as sitting in the hot sun speeds up that process. Parking in the shade also keeps it cooler inside, and you will need less A/C to cool off when you get back in.
8- Turn off your engine if you are going to be idling. Millions of gallons of fuel are wasted each day from idling, we all do it and it’s actually almost unconscious. The other day I dropped off a friend who just needed to walk in and send a later to the post office, without realizing it I idled for 5 minutes. If you look at it on a larger scale, a few hundred thousand people idling every day we can save a lot of gas consumption right there.
9- For the folks living in the northern hemisphere don’t drive a lot with a cold engine. Not only this is bad for your car, cold engines do not run efficiently. This is actually written in most cars manufacturer manuals who reads those anyways, but you should!).
10- Buy a high mileage car like a MINI or a Toyota PRIUS hybrid cars, or better yet move closer to where you work.
Hopefully this will help you reduce the gallon/mile ration you have right now. If you want to make a profit out of the skyrocketing commodity price, invest in buying stocks from oil companies or any utility company. For some reason I cannot explain, they always make more money when the price of their product goes up (which they have no control over). As for me, I am going to start using my bike more often, it’s free and on top of that it combines getting from point A to B while keeping fit!
These are fantastic tips Thomas thank you! Cars are so expensive, not just in the initial purchase but also with maintenance, repairs and car-related costs (parking!!!). I had the unfortunate experience of spending too much on my first car, including repairs over $3,500! I definitely learnt from the experience and I wrote some essential tips to consider when you are buying a car (old or new!). Enjoy!
It is good to see posts that give truly quality information. Great post. :)…
Hi William,
It’s my pleasure to help and now that petrol prices are so high why let it evaporate or use it on cooling your car ?
Enjoy the summer and the savings,
Hi William,
It’s my pleasure to help and now that petrol prices are so high why let it evaporate or use it on cooling your car ?
Enjoy the summer and the savings,
dude #7 help alot i did’nt even think about that thanks alot
dude #7 help alot i did’nt even think about that thanks alot