How To Save Money On Gas For Your Car Now

If you have a car like me, you are probably conscious about gas prices. This is because an increase in gas prices means more expenses. Am I right?

I do not blame you. Saving money on gas should be a priority for any working class adult with a monthly budget. With that said, here are some gas saving tips for cars.

1. Do Not Keep Your Car Engines Idle

When you leave your car idle, you waste about 0.5 gallons of gasoline per hour. This is according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. This amount may vary depending on your car engine size and AC duration.

In order words, car idling costs half the price you pay for a gallon of gasoline. As of March 2022, the US Energy Information Administration has the average monthly gasoline cost at $3.61. So, car idling your car costs you about $1.81 per hour.

It may not sound a lot, but such a cost can accumulate to quite an amount monthly. This is especially when car idling is done a few hours in a week. It could cost you to refuel twice a week.

In order to avoid this expense, turn off your car engine whenever you are parked. This is especially whenever you are waiting in the car. The United States Department of Energy projects this will save you about $0.01 to $0.02 per minute. This is one of the best ways to save money on gas.

2. Drive 5 Miles Below Observable Speed Limit

Does driving slower actually save gas?

Yes, it does. For most cars, fuel economy peaks at about 50 miles per hour. The US Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy found there is an indirect relationship between fuel economy and gas. To simplify, the fuel economy is indirectly proportional to car speed.

What does this mean, dear reader?

It means the more you speed, the more you waste gas. Also, the Energy office found speeding above your car’s engine fuel economy peak will cost you $0.30 per gallon travelled. Driving fast burns more gas than driving slowly. So, going five miles below observable speed limit will improve your fuel economy by 7% to 14%.

In other words, your gasoline savings will be $0.30 to $0.60 per gallon travelled. This is according to a research by the US Energy Department. The statistics are cited at the end of this article.

3. Use Your City’s Public Transit For Certain Places

This is a great way to save on car gas payment. Let me tell you why.

City transportation saves you hundreds of dollars annually. I do not know about your city, but my city has a metropolitan transit which costs next to nothing. It is called VIA. Here are the mind-blowing money-saving thing about them.

Firstly, students can buy a semester pass. Then, they can go wherever they want within city limits without paying more than their semester pass cost- $38. Imagine that!

With $38, you get to use the public transit to get anywhere in the city for a semester. Hell, some of us pay $38 to fill a gas tank which does not even last a week. Am I right?

Anyways, VIA also has annual pass for anyone else. It costs $365 a year. However, this is way cheaper than the average cost of car gasoline annually. This is especially, when you are a full time worker who travels long distances. You get to go anywhere you want in the city without paying a dime for 365 days in a year.

It is a great deal, is it not?

To clarify, I am not telling you to trade in your car. You can still have your car, however use a pass such as this one for daily travel to mundane things. It will save you the cost of refueling your car each week.

4. Invest In Energy Efficient Cars To Save On Gas

There are cars which save money on gas for you. If your car has a higher MPG than average cars, it is an energy efficient car. MPG is the abbreviated form of Miles per Gallon. It means how many miles it takes your car to travel on a gallon of gasoline.

Here is a good trick to remember. The higher your MPG, the higher you will preserve gas when driving. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Additionally, you can get better gas mileage using a new feature in new cars nowadays. It is called cruise control. Cruise driving increases your fuel economy to about 2%. As a result, the gasoline savings is about $0.02 to $0.05 per gallon.

What if you drive an old pre-efficient car model?

It is not a problem. You can still improve your gas mileage by observing the gas saving tips for cars here. They will make a difference.

5. Utilize Fuel Saving Apps To Save Money

There are apps that save money on gas for your car. They are good at comparing gas prices of your local gas stations. As a result, you get to know where to go without driving around looking for the right gas price.

Having mentioned the importance, here are the best gas apps.

• Gas Buddy: It is the best app to save money on gas. Not only does it update you on price hikes of your local gas stations, but it tells you the cheapest gas. This is an app, which is available to drivers in US, Australia and Canada.
• Waze: One thing I like about Waze is it alerts you on real-time traffic or other factors leading to more car fuel usage. If you have used it before, you will notice it beeps whenever you exceed speed limit. In doing so, it helps you drive slowly and increases your fuel economy. Therefore, saving you money on gas.

Finally, these apps offer some great benefits. You can just download them on your phone and use them. You will save on car gas prices. Just use gas buddy, whenever you want to get gas. And Waze for directions to any place.

6. Get Gas From Low-Income Side Of Town

Personally, I have observed gas prices are a few cents cheap in lower income neighborhoods than its high class counterpart. Although I could not find any concrete research backing this claim, it seems to be the case in my city – San Antonio.

Gas prices in the south, east and west sides of my city is slightly lower than those on the north side (the affluent side). Perhaps, it is due to the numerous competing gas stations in these areas. That is compared to the affluent side of my city.

Not sure why it is the case, but I want you to take advantage of such phenomena in your city too. A few cents per gallon of gas may not sound much, the gas savings accumulate. Check out the best websites that show cheap local gas prices by zip code to optimize your cheap gas price search.

7. Use Gas Station Fuel Reward Cards To Save Money

What is a fuel rewards card?

It is a loyalty card major gas stations or banks offer. Like any other loyalty card, you get rewards each time you use it. Some of these are credit cards, so beware of them.

You can check out the Best Gas Reward Programs for saving money on gas.

Well, these are the gas saving tips for cars. These make sure you do not let car gasoline expense become a big part of your monthly expenses. It is working for me. I hope it works for you too!

Please note: statistics used in this article were researched from the United States of Energy Department and South Carolina Environmental Department. For more information on energy efficiency or fuel economy, you can refer to Fueleconomy.gov.