Less Commonly Known Ways To Save On Gas

By Joshua Rose

With the high price of gasoline, many of us have surfed the internet to find various gas saving tips so that we can save as much money as possible at the pump. And there’s lots of good information to be found that will help us all.

While we’re probably all aware of the most common ways to save on gas, such as driving the speed limit, keeping our vehicles tuned up, monitoring tire pressure, emptying the trunk of extra weight, and so forth, there are several other tips that seem to be less commonly known and don’t get very much attention on the web.

So, I thought I’d add these tips here for those of you looking for additional ways to help offset rising fuel costs.

Have you noticed that gas often dribbles onto the pavement from the hose when you’re finished at the pump? Well, you’ve paid for that gas that’s being lost and usually amounts to about a ½ cup. To get this gas into your tank (before removing the hose), quickly turn the handle 180 degrees so that it's upside down. This will force out this gas into your tank. Otherwise, this gas will be wasted or pumped into the next customer’s vehicle ... on your tab.

"Topping off" your tank to get every last drop your tank can hold isn’t a good idea. Sure, we all like to get it to that nice round number, but the truth is that gas pumps don't calibrate well on very short bursts and it's likely you'll be overcharged. Topping off can also lead to overflowing when the gas expands in the sun or if you park on a hill.

Check gas prices on the internet at sites like GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com. All you have to do is enter your zip code and compare. I just did this and found a 19 cent difference from the highest price to the lowest. This can be a savings of $3 or $4 per fill-up.

The method you use to pay for the gas can also lead to money savings. There are several credit cards with as much as 5% cash back on gas purchases. For example, right now the best I’m aware of is the Discover Open Road Card. So, $3.00 gas actually costs $2.85, for example. If you are a two-car family driving the average of 15,000 miles per year each, and getting 20 mpg, you'd use 1,500 gallons of gas annually. Multiply that times the .15 cash back in the example above and that's a savings of $225. This can buy a lot of free gas.

Do you know that gas evaporates? Yup, to the tune of about 150 million gallons a year. You can minimize this by making sure your gas cap fits properly and has been tightly closed. Also, park in the shade whenever possible. And related to this, in the summertime your air conditioning has to work a lot harder to cool down your sun heated interior.

Added all together, these additional tips can help you keep a significant amount of dollars where they belong … in your wallet.

source: Ezine Articles