Alright, well gas prices have been falling all around the country, which is good news. At least more most of us. I have compiled a list of 6 of my own money saving tips to maximize your savings as prices fall. You might have heard of these before, but if you haven’t…then you’re welcome.
1. Get Gas In The Evening Rather Than Morning – As prices fall, stations are trying
to stay competitive by drastically lowering prices. Here in Orem, prices have fallen almost a whole dollar in the last month. That is on average of over 3 cents a day. Stations are lowering prices almost everyday. It is a good idea to buy your gas in the evening rather than morning to take advantage of falling prices as stations lower prices mid-day.
2. Don’t Fill Your Tank – For light drivers, some of us might take a couple of weeks to fill up a whole tank. When prices are decreasing, many drivers are still using gas they paid much more for several weeks before. If you don’t have to drive far to get to your favorite station, it is much more beneficial to buy only fill your tank partially to then buy gas again a week or so later at a lower price.
As a side note, keeping less gas in your tank will lower the weight of your car. This, in essence, improves your car’s fuel efficiency by staying lighter.
3. Reduce Excess Weight – The heavier your car is, the less efficient your MPG is. Make sure to pull out any extra weight from your back seat, or trunk. I made this mistake over the summer when, after moving, I forgot to take my weight set out of my trunk. Pull out golf clubs, those camp chairs from the 4th of July Parade, or whatever. This will greatly improve MPG.
4. Develop Good Driving Habits – While driving, don’t make any sudden increases and decreases in speed. When coming from a stop sign or red light, accelerate gently. If you can see that you will need to break ahead, start slowing down. Rapid speeding up and slowing down greatly wastes gas.
5. Use Costco or Sam’s Club – These warehouse clubs are usually 10 or more cents less per gallon. For those who drive often, this will greatly outweigh the yearly membership fee (plus you get to take advantage of the other cost saving benifits of buying from a warehouse club). An added bonus is using the specific club credit card (I use Costco’s AMEX card). The credit card usually comes with a cash back savings on top of the low prices.
6. Use GasBuddy.com – GasBuddy.com is a website where users all around the country monitor their local gas stations and post their prices. These prices are usually updated every few hours. This resource is a great for both falling prices and rising prices. I make sure to always check before I need to get gas to find the station with the lowest price in my area.
If these don’t work, you can always just try drafting semi-trucks on the freeway. That usually works too.
