Save on Gas

This is one pain that just will not go away.  Years ago, I fought the $2.00 barrier with everything that I had.  I would coast into the gas station on fumes when I saw $1.99.  Unfortunately, I had to give in.  Soon it was $3 and then $4.  Will it ever end?  Not as long as people are making money off of gas (Speculators).  Here are a few ways to help get more gas with the dollars that you have.

• Buy gas early:  By 10 AM, most gas stations have checked their competitors and raise prices accordingly.
• Buy on Wednesday.  The pick pocketing at the pumps starts on Thursday.  Buy early on Wednesday.
• If you must get gas on the weekend, only get a couple gallons to hold you over until Wednesday.
• Drive smart.  That means coast to a traffic light.  When you break, you dissipate the energy the gas has given your car.  There is no way to get that back.  If you have to accelerate, then you are burning more gas.  If the light ahead is already red or yellow, coast.  If it changes before you get there, you just saved money.
• Do not accelerate fast.  Hitting the interstate? Use that down hill on the entrance ramp to help speed you up.  Take a few extra seconds to get up to speed.  If you tack 5 seconds to get up to speed and stop 15 times on your way to work, it will take you only 1 minute and 15 seconds longer to get to work. 
• If you are about to go down a hill right after a stop, save the bulk of your acceleration for the hill.
• Group small trips around town into one. 
• Make right hand turns.  You wait less making a right hand turn then waiting on traffic for a left.  Plot your errands around right hand turns.  The big shipping companies do this when plotting the delivery routes for their drivers.
• Clean out your car.  You put 40 pounds of water softener salt in your trunk for extra traction in winter.  It is now July.  The more mass in your car, the more energy (gas) it takes to move it.
• Reduce drag.  When going fast, use your air conditioner and roll up the windows.  Remove roof racks also.
• Do you really need to use 93 octane fuel or will your car run on 87?
• If you bought a car that needs any octane above 87, you bought the wrong car.  Buy smarter next time.
• Don’t just jump out there and get a hybrid.  The cost of a hybrid may not outweigh its savings.  Get an idea of how long you will need to have that car to get some financial savings in gas money.  Do not forget to look at the maintenance schedule and the cost of that maintenance compared to non-hybrid vehicles.
• Pick one day a week to car pool with co-workers.  Don’t forget to pitch in a buck or two for gas.  We all have errands to run.  Car pooling once a week saves gas but also forces you to do more errands at once which also saves gas.
• Consider public transportation.  Here in America, we are lacking public transportation.  This week I’m taking the Philadelphia subway to work and walking back to my hotel in the evening.  We need more monorails! (Sorry, off topic).  My other alternative would be a rental car.  I’m only a mile from work. Exercise is free.