How You Can Save Money On Car Gas + Bonus

In the current tough economic times, everyone is looking for ways to save as much money as possible when shopping or spending their money. The cost of filling up the tank is a huge expense for many people who own or drive a car. But do you know that by following some tips, you could save money on car gas? In this article, we have put together 10 simple tips that can help you reduce your monthly gas expense.

Avoid carrying Unnecessary Weight

Do you know that your car is similar to your body when it comes to fuel consumption? Just like your body, your car requires more fuel to carry around more weight. We all carry a backpack when necessary, right? So, if you want to save gas, you would want to avoid carrying unnecessary stuff in your car boot unless you actually need to.

Accelerate Smoothly

A lot of people like accelerating especially when they want to overtake a slow-moving car in front of them or when rushing to a job or somewhere else. Although this may be helpful sometimes, it has an impact on the amount of fuel your car consumes. In fact, the perfect way is to drive at a constant speed (of around 50mph) and in the highest gear (5 or 6).

This means that if you are a patient driver, you will end up spending less money on car gas. It’s good to accelerate past a car only when you need to but not just to be in front of it.

Stick to Regular Gas

You might think that using premium fuel will benefit your engine, but this is not always true. In fact, you are just being extravagant. A lot of cars today are made to run just fine with regular gas – including those that recommend you to use premium gas.

Using regular fuel instead of premium will save you a lot of money on gas. But before you switch from premium to regular, we recommend that you check out your car manual to see whether the car can run on other types of fuel other than premium.

Avoid Adding Unnecessary Drag

If your car has a luggage carrier that you rarely use; you might want to take it off. Do you know why? When your car is moving through the air, it’s in constant friction with air, and this friction is the drag we are talking about.

This drag slows down your car, and your car engine must make up for that. According to Consumer Reports, when you’re driving at highway speeds, over 50 percent of your car engine’s power is used to overcome aerodynamic drag. So, carrying stuff on your car’s luggage carrier leads to more fuel consumption. We advise you to take that carrier off if you are not planning to use it.

Pay your gas with cash

If you often pay your gas using credit or debit cards, you may be spending more money. This is because some gas stations charge a premium when you pay with cards to offset the processing fees charged by credit card companies.
If you want to use your credit card and spend less on your car fuel, you might want to look for gas stations that charge the same when paying with either cash or credit cards.

Stick to the maintenance schedule

Regular maintenance checks of your car does not only improve your engine performance but also can save you on fuel in the long run. If for example, your car tires don’t have tread or are deflated, they can increase the amount of fuel required by your car, and this translates to spending more on gas. Regular car maintenance also means saving money on auto repair as problems will be taken care of before they worsen.

So if you want to save money on your car fuel, you need to do regular car repair when necessary and take it for replacement of air filters, or for an oil change and topping off the coolant. Also, you would want to clean your car regularly as dirt also increases the aerodynamic drag (explained above). Get more information about this at http://theeliteproduct.com/5-shocking-reasons-clean-car/.

Earn Gas Cards at Grocery Stores

When you shop a certain amount of groceries at a grocery store on a single visit, you may be rewarded with a gas card. Some grocery stores also allow you earn gas rewards points every time you buy from them. So if you could encourage your family to shop at this store using the same account, you would end up earning free gas, and this would save you money on gas.

But make sure that they are not buying unnecessary groceries that you won’t eat as this could make you spend more in the long run, rather than saving.

Don’t wait until you absolutely need gas

Don’t wait until the arrow points at “empty” to add gas to your car as this will make you rush to whatever fuel station nearby to fuel your car. Some gas stations have expensive gas rates, and so you would want to avoid them as much as possible if you’re serious about reducing your gas expenses.

You should have a routine of filling your car tank when it’s still a quarter full so that you can choose your preferred gas station. Just know which gas stations in your neighborhood have the cheapest gas and always use them.

Use “Gas-Saving” smartphone apps

Before you start your journey, you need to map out your route so that you can know the shortest route possible and which you will not encounter delays. If you have a smartphone, we recommend using some apps like Waze to help you find the best route. This app provides you with real-time data by taking into account road closures, accidents, and other travel delays.

By using such kind of apps, you will not waste gas while idling in traffic jams, or other delays like road accidents. Just download and install them and then learn how to use them to help you get an alternative route when you need.

Stay cool without the air conditioning

While a car air conditioner is a fantastic feature in your car, it may escalate your gas costs. Rather than using the air conditioning, you can use alternative ways like opening your car windows when it’s hot or wearing lightweight clothes. Also, you could develop a habit of driving during cooler parts of the day and always park your car in a shady area to keep your car interior cool. Whatever you will do, make sure that it minimizes the use of air conditioning as much as possible.

Bonus: Keep your car clean.

According to Myth Busters, clean car can drive 2 miles per gallon more than dirty car. Which can help you save for every 15000 miles a year a 100.

These are money management and fuel-saving tips that you can start using from now to reduce your monthly expense on car gas.

Author Bio

Tim Fox cofounder and writer for The Elite Blog. Where he and his friends shares latest information about cars and motorcycles.