7 Ways You Can Save Significant Money On Your Fuel Bill

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

7 Ways You Can Save Significant Money On Your Fuel Bill
(posted with permission from: http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/04/7-ways-you-save-significant-money-on.html)

Fuel prices are now their highest in 30 months and while they will fluctuate, the trend is sharply upward. How can you save significant money on your fuel bill?

1) Car Pool. Your employer may provide a car pool service or you can informally organize one with your co-workers or those who work nearby. Let people know online or on a bulletin board. In college many years ago, I was always on a tight budget and offering others a ride for gas money worked well.

2) Organize Your Travel. This will not only save you money but save you time. Here's what I do. Living in the Los Angeles area, I group the places I visit: The San Fernando Valley one day, Orange County another day and the South Bay/LAX area a different day.

3) Empty The Junk From Your Trunk. In preparing this piece, I realized like most people, I'm guilty of using my trunk as a catch-all. I emptied the excess and learned I've been unnecessarily carrying 50 to 60 pounds around and paying for the gas to do it.

4) Keep Your Car Well Serviced and Your Tires Inflated Properly. A misfiring engine, low inflated tires or other little maladjustments can cost you a lot of money.

5) Work From Home When Possible. I do this now and save a small fortune in gas and in wear and tear not only on the car but on me. And it is a far better use of time than commuting. Even if your employer will allow you to do this just one day a week, it's money in your pocket and higher productivity in his or hers.

6) Is This Trip Really Necessary? Instead of driving, could you do some of your shopping online? For example, I usually buy office supplies online and the cost of computer printer ink alone is high enough to receive free overnight shipping. This is time not spent in the car, nor walking the store aisles, nor standing in line to check out, nor lugging heavy packages in and out of the car.

7) Get a Bus Pass, Ride Your Bike or Walk. With a bus pass, the government subsidizes your travel and it keeps the cost low. But even better is if you can ride a bike or walk. My physical therapist lives about three miles from work. Often he rides his bike or walks and not only does it save him gas money, it helps relieve his stress while helping to keep him in top condition.

Use a combination of these suggestions and it could amaze you how fast your savings grow. And don't you have better uses for your money than to give it to oil companies?

[phantom power]

1. I would add a couple other secondary ideas

8) Consider owning a smaller car with a smaller engine.

9) Consider owning one car instead of two cars -- here, the savings is on insurance, and car payments.

[BeFree]

2. In a nutshell

Lower your standard of living?

or

Quit being so damned un-economical with your expenditures?

[n2doc]

3. add: Hypermiling

http://www.hypermiling.com/

Take it slow and save big on gas
Driving style has a big impact on fuel economy. Backing off can save big.
By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer
May 9, 2006: 5:41 PM EDT

http://money.cnn.com/2006/05/01/Autos/driving_for_mpg/index.htm

[Lance_Boyle]

5. when safe, go for it

but any advice to tailgate semis is bad advice.

[Shagbark Hickory]

4. 8.) find an oil speculator and kick them in the ass

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

6. That's funny..

Thanks for the comment!
:hi:

[RC]

7. Best advice yet. And kick him hard.

Driving slow only works if you are driving fast enough for your torque converter to lock up, i.e., faster than 42-48 MPH, depending on the vehicle.
You save nothing driving below the speed the torque converter lock up occurs. So driving 35 instead of 45 in a 40 MPH zone costs. Hear that you slow drivers?