FYI: Saving gas, saving money

Home Archived Opinion FYI: Saving gas, saving money

Published: March 8, 2006

Gas prices are not going to get any better any time soon.  Here are some tips from wiki.ehow.com you can take to save money with that gas guzzling car of yours.

1.  Don’t Drive: If you are only traveling a short distance, then walk or ride your bike.  Also, try taking the bus or carpooling.  It won’t kill you.

2.  Combine trips:  Running errands and taking unnecessary trips can cause significant loss of gas.  Plan ahead of time; make your stops all in one day and in a pattern so that you don’t backtrack.

3.  Getting gas:  Use the cheap gas, unless your car is specifically designed to run on a higher grade.  Don’t fill up your gas tank when prices are high.  Most gas stations take advantage because they know people will pay for it.  Don’t fill up until your near empty.  This will extend your gas usage because it creates a light load as the tank empties.

4.  Taking care of your car: Giving your car a tune-up, though it will not save you money at the pump, you will save you gas.  Clean out unnecessary items in your car.  The lighter your car is the less fuel you will burn.

5.  Driving your car: The fewer stops you make the more gas you will save.  The same goes for acceleration, moving at a steady speed helps reduce the amount of gas used.  Turn off the air conditioner, it is an automatic gas guzzler.

Look into getting a hybrid car or using alternative fuels.  Whether you like it or not, the fuel economy will never be the same and this country is starting to take more interest in ways of reducing dependency on fuel.  Both of these methods are more environmentally friendly and will save you money in the long run.