We’ve all got to drive to get from point A to point B. And with the rising cots of fuel, we need to be able to do it as cheap as possibly. Here are some awesome tips on how to cut down on gas expenses:
Check your tire pressure
A car with accurate tire pressure can get as much as 3.3% better gas mileage.
Change your oil on time
Dirty oil will cause your car to use more gas.
Use STP Gas Treatment
This inexpensive treatment can improve your gas mileage up to 10%
Buy 87 octane gasoline
Unless your car specifically requires that you use a higher octane, go with the cheapest available
Buy your gas on Wednesdays
It is right before the weekend when prices tend to go up.
Carpool
If you can ride to work with someone, even if it’s one day a week, that’s saving gas, oil, miles on your car and cash!
Condense your trips
Plan your shopping trips along the best route and try to get it all done in one day. The less trips, the better!
Watch gas prices
As you are driving around, watch the prices of stations you pass. If it is lower than what you usually pay, go ahead and fill up!
Shell Saver
Link your Shell Saver card to your debit account and earn 2c back per gallon
Exxon and Upromise
Earn a % back on your gas when you link your debit/credit card to Upromise and use it at Exxon to pay
Big Box Stores
Gas is sometimes cheaper at Sams and Costco. Check out your local club’s prices.
Walmart gift cards
Both Murphy USA and Sam’s Club take Walmart gift cards for gas.
Grocery Store Fuel Perks
Find out if your grocery store offers fuel perks. You can see a list of participating stores here.
GasBuddy.com
Find the cheapest gas in your area
Change your tires
My husband’s truck had the wrong size tires. When we change them, we noticed an immediate improvement in gas mileage.
Clean/Change your air filter
Make sure you have a clean air filter. A dirty one can hurt your gas mileage.
Drive The Speed Limit
Speeding not only costs you if you get a ticket, but it also costs more gas to run over the speed limit.
Take Off Slowly
Don’t gas it when you take off from a stop light or stop sign. Slowly increasing your speed will use less gas.
Here is a really great article on ways to change your driving and habits to save even more.
How do you save on gas?
(Thanks Linds!)
We do our grocery shopping at Kroger, they double coupons, and save our points for cheap gas. We also use our Kroger card even on WIC purchases to get points we are not even paying for. Shell also takes the Kroger discount on gas so when we coupon shop at cvs for the free, gas deals we get shell cards and get our has even cheaper. We use a Capital One card every time we buy gas and get 2% back to put in our fund :)
If you are lucky enough to have a Pix (which is a Publix gas station) you can use there gift card and save .03 a gallon, plus take in a receipt showing you bought 30.00 worth of product at Publix and get .03 more off a gallon. That is a .06 a gallon savings.
The only discount on gas here is to pay for it at Walmart (Murphy’s) using a Walmart GC so you get 3 cents off per gallon. Right now it is $3.75. OUCH!
I heard that gas prices go up on weekends due to people traveling, and the best days to buy gas are Tuesday and Wednesday. I have seen gas at one price when I take DS to school at 7:30, then by the time I take DD at 9:30 the price has gone up 5 cents or more!
We are only 1.1 miles from my kids schools (the elem. & middle school share a cafeteria), so I told them they need to dust off their helmets and start bicycling to school, because gas prices are just too high for me to make 4 round trips per day.
You can also get your $0.10 Kroger discount at Shell too, pretty sure they let you get the .03 cent one but not 100% on that, so in towns that don’t have Kroger I fill up at Shell with my Kroger card discount.
Had to comment on this one. My big way of saving money on gas – Drive Slower! My car displays my current MPG and average for the trip. I now drive 65mph instead of 70-75, coast when I can (I live in a hilly area), and don’t “gas it” from a stop sign or traffic light. I can now get 1-2 miles per gallon more and that adds up! So slow down and save money.
Kroger offers fuel discounts with their loyalty card at Kroger gas stations. It depends on how much you spend on groceries (before coupons, which is nice). I usually get somewhere between .10 and .50 off per gallon. The prices are about the same as other stations, so it’s worth it for me to fill up there.
Weis supermarkets also has a gas program with Sheetz where for every $50.00 you get 10cents off a gallon of gas, $100 20 cents etc. Only problem is that it doesn’t accumulate so each order has to be over $50 to get the points. Still its something!
I live about 3/4 away from Publix, so I walk about 2X a week to get produce or different things that I’m able to carry. On Sunday after church, my hubby takes me to do me regular trip. The walking is great exercise, and I have the chance to scope out my trip!
3/4 a mile, I meant to put ;)
We live in a rural area and everything is about 30-40 miles away, (shopping, work). Weis offers a gas rewards program for .10 off a gallon for every $50 you spend up to 20 gallons and our local convenience store offers .05 off a gallon for every 250 points, (you get a few points per dollar you spend). I currently have $2 off a gallon at Weis and that is used for my husband car because he travels about 70-80 mles a day round trip for work. Gas has hit $4 a gallon where we live and I am trying to cut my shopping trips to once every 2 weeks instead of once a week with only small trips to my local high priced small grocery for milk, etc.
The best way I have found to up your gas milage is to make sure your oil is changed and your car tuned up and to drive the spped limit. My mini van tells me my milage, both over all and current, so I can adjust my speed accordingly while I am driving. It’s very handy!
I started carpooling in November when my husband was laid off. I live 40 miles (one way) from work, and it saves me lots of money. I only get 14 miles to a gallon and the friend I ride with gets almost 30.
In my area, Giant Eagle, Weis, and Giant grocery food stores all offer fuel perks.
My husband has also said regular tune ups on your car and the air filter can increase your gas mileage, not by much but it can. Also, never drive over the speed limit or “horse” your vehicle, that all uses more gas. I remember reading somewhere too that your car will actually use more gas when idling the engine then when you shut it off and restart it. I haven’t noticed a huge difference but maybe that’s because if I’m sitting somewhere for a long period of time I shut my engine off (like at the school waiting for my son)! lol
I saw on TV once too, to use your GPS for the fastest route to get somewhere. GPS’s are equipped to show you the shortest route possible if you set it that way so if you cut your mileage by going a way you aren’t familiar with you may just save on gas and get somewhere faster! Who knows!?
I don’t know about ya’ll but if i use midgrade i pay more but it lasts me longer….. if i go on lang trips i use premium…. I used to drive from atl to gulf port ms on one tank w/ premium!
Also, make sure your air filter is clean. A dirty air filter in your engine can definitely hurt your gas mileage!
Albertson’s has a gas discount program. I think its $.05 off for every $50 spent.
We save on gas by not owning a car, lol! Just couldn’t help putting my two cents in on this one. I know that car free is not possible for everyone but it has worked well for us and we save TONS of money.
King Soopers and Safeway (some locations) also have a gas discount linked to their store card.
Gas Buddy is the way to go. I have the app on my phone and always check it before I get gas. Saves me from driving around.
our Price Chopper offers $.10 off per gallon up to 20 gallons for every $50 you spend. The savings have been adding up slower now that I am using coupons, but I know I am saving so much more this way :) I got $.50 off per gallon today.
Sign up for Bi-lo fuel perks program. This month I save 0.65 per gallon upto 20 gallon.
That’s pretty awesome!
I recently saw on TV that you can go to billshrink.com and put in your vehicle, and your route and it will give you the stations along the way and their prices. The site has other features as well, I have only ‘played’ with the gas one so far though.
walk and ride the bike… yea I know this is not possible for many. it’s not for me either. the nearest “wal-mart” is 15 miles away. but when we finally get moved into military housing I am seriously going to have my husband ride a bike to work each day. THEN they can not have him escorting soldiers around in his POV. ;) EVIL I AM!
Wed is usually the cheapest day of the week to get gas. It’s right before the weekend so most places will have a dip in gas prices on Wed.