What are you doing to save on gas?
There are lots of tips, tricks and best practices to cut gasoline consumption. What works? What doesn't work? Tell us your secrets below.
This post comes from Ellen Cannon at partner site SavingsAccounts.com.
The price of gas is putting the brakes on Americans' lives these days. As of April 22, regular unleaded gas in the United States averaged $3.88 per gallon, a jump of 11.53 cents in two weeks and 77 cents since January, when the national average was $3.11 per gallon, according to the Lundberg Survey.
To avoid pain at the pump, people are making efforts beyond carpooling. Many are driving less, combining shopping trips, using public transportation or riding bikes to run errands. Many car shoppers are trading in gas guzzlers for gas sippers or hybrids. With summer coming, many may be reconsidering their vacations.
There are other ways to maximize the dollars you feed to the pump without driving less -- by maximizing your miles per gallon. There's a good deal of advice on ways to get more miles out of a tank of gas, but what really works? Keeping your tires properly inflated extends the life of the tires and is important for safety, but does it save you money? Driving at lower speeds is said to save money on longer trips, but will using cruise control help, too? According to Edmunds.com, it will.
- MSN Autos:Find the cheapest gas prices near you
As the temperature rises along with the price of gasoline, you may be debating which will give you better fuel economy -- air-conditioning or driving with open windows. When you're stopped for a bridge opening or in a traffic jam, is it better to turn off your car or keep it idling? What do you think? Post continues after video.
Also, there are lots of myths about how to save money on gas. Gasoline-saving products proliferate, but apparently they don't do much good. The Federal Trade Commission lists products tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, explaining what the device claims to do and what the EPA found to be true.
We want to know what you're doing to save on gas. Do you have any driving secrets to cut your fuel consumption? Are you canceling a planned vacation? Are you flying instead of driving because it’s cheaper? Have you gotten a credit card with rebates on gas? At the bottom of this page, tell us your story or share your tips with us. We may publish your ideas in an upcoming article.
More on SavingsAccounts.com and MSN Money:
I'm doing the same things I was before gas was $4 a gallon. I don't accelerate to stop lights and signs like 90% of the idiots I see on the road. If I know I'm going to have to stop, I coast for as long as possible before using my brakes. Braking is wasted energy, people. I don't race from stop light to stop light and I drive a fuel effecient vehicle (2009 Civic).
You'd be surprised at how much better your mileage will be if you drive conservatively.
I don't freak out and rush out to spend thousands of financed dollars on a new vehicle that gets a few miles per gallon better fuel economy. I mostly ignore the inflated claims and buzz and continue to drive my older but well maintained and reliable vehicles that I can work on and repair myself. Keeping tires inflated and air filters clean and vehicles in tune can also help. Emptying all the unneeded clutter and weight can also prove a plus.
I pay nothing for gas and I still get around fast and efficiently. :)
2) I arrange all of my appointments, shopping, etc. on the same day (takes some scheduling and planning, but worth it).
3) Plan my driving pattern in a circle or semi-circle to my home.
4) Get on the internet to find the cheapest gas in town, go to that gas station (even though it may go against my grain if it's one of the major ones).
5) Drive under 60 mph, not a lot of quick stops and goes (takes too much gas).
6) Use cruise control as much as possible.
7) Fortunately, or unfortunately, whichever way you may wish to look at it, I had to have my O2 sensors replaced which improved my gas mileage tremendously. (By the way I had an extended warranty, which would have costs me $1309. costs me $50, frugal me huh?)
When it comes to fuel prices, we are always asked to modify our behavior to somehow help the problem. I have a problem understanding that. I also heard a politician describe Lybia as a country that did not represent a national concern to the US. Yet, the protests in that country--and any hiccup in the Middle East--is enough to cause gas prices over here to go out of control. I don't understand the dissonance between our foreign policy efforts and the unchanged behavior of the ungrateful companies those efforts are aimed to protect. So, rather than trying to convince the state of Maine to establish a substantial commuter or carpooling service, or trying to bike 72 miles each way to work, I would like to suggest that we--all--apply the ingenuity, moxy and perseverance shown by the people of Egypt in seeking and obtaining change. That is, what would happen if we all communicated through social media with each of our friends, and decided not to go to work for an entire week, refusing to use our vehicles or any engine that depends on combustion. I am sure that such an action--hitting the purse of every major company in a domino effect--would get the attention of all the relevant players in this imbroglio. I am convinced that through such unified action is the only way we would get these companies to clean up their act. Is it doable? It only took the discontent of a few and the strong will of many to bring down a decades long regime in Egypt... I think it's worth a try.
I live in northern calif and i am on a fix income. I sold my truck and got a used honda. i am starting to walk to the store on days i can and many days i don't go anywhere. I am looking for work so i try to use the car only when i go for job interviews. this is very hard to do because sometimes my choice is do i buy groceries or do i get gas. my kids who are grown are going through the same even with jobs. I walk when i can when it comes to getting something from the store its good exercise. i try to plan ahead with trips to farther places or i will meet half way with picking up the grandkids. sometimes if i go to visits i stay over to save gas so i don't have to do the trip twice.
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