With gas prices skyrocketing, and no end in sight, millions of people are on a mission to save money at the gas pump every opportunity they get. 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 gas costs.
Every time the price of gas goes up at the fuel pump by 10 cents, the cost of the average driver’s gas consumption will rise by about $75 over the course of a year.
This article will give you the Top 10 Ways To Save Money At Gas Stations, which can help you reduce the amount of money that you spend each week filling up your vehicle.
After you have finished reading this article you’ll have some tools and information that you need to start saving money today.
Some of the information will vary for you personally depending on what type of vehicle 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 that we share with you to your own purse or wallet.
Way 1: Properly Maintain Your Vehicle
Only about 15% of the fuel that you put into your vehicle 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. With the Internet right at your fingertips, you don’t even have to leave your home.
The more that you understand about the way 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% 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.
This way may require more of your time initially, but educating yourself on the basics can go a long way toward knowing how your vehicle works on a fundamental level, and this knowledge can be applied to saving money on gas.
Remember, applied knowledge is power!
Way 2: 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 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 to anyway, you can of course keep your eyes open for the cheapest gas.
Way 3: 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 or compressing time-frames and saving money on your fuel costs at the same time.
Way 4: 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 a 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 toward your next purchase with participating retailers.
Way 5: 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, you’ll be getting a better gas price economy. Alternatively, you can fill up your gas tank later in the evening to avoid the rush of day hours.
Way 6: 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. They have 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 when the price of gas will vary by up to 20 percent within a short radius so it’s important for 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.
Check out: www.GasBuddy.com
Way 7: 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 your fuel purchase you will find some money-saving benefits during shopping and fueling up at a certain gas station.
Way 8: 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.
If you prefer to use your smartphone, you can download one of the many gas Apps to keep a fuel log.
Start to develop the habit of knowing exactly how much you are spending on 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 a fuel log of some kind from the previous car owner.
Way 9: 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 the fuel log that you keep in your 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 on gas at the fuel pump, then you’ll know that you need to take action so that you can start seeing savings in your gas economy rather than a constant deficit.
You can’t manage what you don’t measure.
Way 10: 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.
Conclusion
After reading through the Top 10 Ways To Save Money At Gas Stations, you should have enough advice, tips, and information to start saving money at the gas pumps today.
Start by slowly implementing one or two of the money-saving tips and before long you’ll start to see a sizable difference in the amount of money that you spend each week buying gas for your vehicle.
By the end of one year, you will have saved yourself from $100 to $500 just by following our suggestions.
Keep track of all your auto expenses in a safe place (e.g. gas log book or mobile App) so that you can have access to any information that you need in a single moment. This will come in handy if you are trying to determine how much you are spending on fuel costs or when the last time it was that you had your car serviced.
Saving money at the gas pump is as easy as making a few simple changes in your life and your driving habits.
You don’t need to make big changes all at once but if you try to adopt as many of the tips and suggestions listed in this article, you’ll be able to spend your saved money elsewhere next year or bank it!
