Pumping Away Your Payday - Some Gas Saving Advice

June 4, 2008

With so much focus on the sub prime mortgage crisis, inflation, and a possible recession on the horizon, we are still expected to go through our life as normal. No matter what daily life includes, the economy has some hand in how we do it, where we do it, and for how long. One of the most effected regions of daily life involves our cars.

To say gas prices are high is an understatement. Several factors are causing those prices to sky rockets and there is no hope in sight. As a result, those who depend on driving as a living are loosing jobs and everyone else is being forced to give up driving unless absolutely necessary.

While there are a few who are finding that legendary silver lining there are enough to take pause and find ways to combat soaring gas prices, after all, being eco-friendly is great but it’s even better when you cut down on fuel emissions on your own and not when you are forced to.

The first of many gas saving tips is to simply stop driving and take public transportation. Most big cities and larger urban areas have bus lines that will take you to and from your destinations. For those in metropolitan areas, subway lines are a great alternative. If, however, you can not take public transportation for one reason or another try car pooling, bicycling, or even walking.

Another popular piece of advice is to trade in your car for a motorcycle or a scooter. For inner city travel, these two wheeled wonders are great on gas but remember you are trading space for fuel efficiency so this answer is certainly not for everyone.

To keep your car and to combat prices there are a few things you can do that will make a big difference.

Simple car maintenance will often reduce the number of times you need to fill up drastically. Many of us just run our cars until something breaks off or starts to sound “wrong”. Automobiles are high performance machines that require check ups and tuning and failing to do so can affect your wallet in a serious way. Follow your car manual which will tell you when to get a check up and will even give you a time table of what to replace. This is a great tool that will add years to your trusty vehicle as well as saving some green at the gas pump.

Some suggestions include:

Don’t skip the oil change.
Keep your tires inflated at the appropriate levels.
Get that engine tune up you’ve been promising your car.
Change your air filter

Aside from the mechanical aspect, how you drive has a huge impact on how much gas you waste and therefore how much you need to fill up. Most of the gas wasted happens in the city. This is due to the amount of stopping and starting we are forced to do. So if you find yourself hitting every red light or stuck in a quagmire of a traffic jam then make sure you drive as gently as possible. Do not just speed up as soon as you get the green light only to be forced to come to a screeching halt. Chances are good that you’re going to get another red light so get to it gracefully. This way you save on gas not to mention brake pads.

If you find yourself in a nightmare traffic jam then turn off the engine. Idling wastes gas and a lot of it so if you know that you are going to be stuck for a while then it is just smarter to switch it off. On the flip side, do not turn off your engine if you expect a wait time of just a few minutes. Turning the car on wastes about as much fuel as idling if not more and so it is economical to leave the engine running. You will have to judge these situations on your own to know when it is the right time to idle and when it is not.

Many are finding that a large portion of their paychecks each week is going into their cars. This fact may be unavoidable for the time being but by being smart and savvy, drivers can reduce that percentage leaving more of the paychecks for other items.