Gas Saving Tips - Lower Your Cost Of Gas

Prices on gas have reached record highs now.  Rising gas prices are just about killing most of us. There are things you can do to lower your cost of gas. Here are two realistic methods to reduce your gas cost.  While they are not exactly gas saving tips… that is,  you won’t actually increase your mileage or improve gas mileage, they will nevertheless save you a lot of money at the pump. 
The first is to get a Discover card and always use it when you get gas.
 Why, you ask?  Because the Discover card has a fantastic program that pays you back 5% of every penny you spend on gas.  Just for using the Discover card, you save 5%.  It’s called the Open Road Card.
Apply for the Discover® Open Road Card today!
 Lets look at the savings for 6 months if you always buy gas with the Discover Card vs not using the Discover Open Road Card.
 Assume we spend $100 a week on gas.
 6 Months would be 26 weeks x $100 = $2600 cost without using the Discover card.
Now assume we use the Discover Card.
 6 Months = 26 weeks x $100 = $2600 - $130 = $2470. (5% of $2600 = $130)
So, the question is, “If you can save $130 for doing absolutely nothing, Why Wouldn’t You?“  
,BR>   The second tip is to check out the website gasbuddy.com before you go to the gas station to get gas.  Gasbuddy.com has a box where you can input your zip code or city, state or province (in the USA and Canada) and they will show you the cheapest gas for many of the filling stations in your area.  Just choose the lowest price and you’ve saved some money.  This is totally free and won’t cost you anything to use. While these tips might not give you better mileage, they will certainly reduce your gas cost!

Tips to Save Money on Gas

 Here are a few tips to save on gas.   Of course,  only do the ones that make sense for you since not everyone is in a position to take advantage of all the suggestions.  Some of them may seem silly or nit pickey, but remember, the goal is to save money.

1.  Always fill up in the morning.  Always.  Everyone can do this.  The reason is that gas expands with heat and you will actually get less gas for the same cost if you pump in the afternoon.   The gas in the underground tank heats up during the sunlight hours and cools down at night.
2. Pump your gas at a moderately slow level.  This reduces the amount of gas that gets returned to the underground tank in the form of vapor.  The faster you pump, the more gas gets returned as vapor.    
3. This may seem silly, but get gas as often as possible.  Since gas goes up almost daily, you will be ‘dollar cost averaging’ your purchases at the pump.  Lets compare getting gas whenever your tank is only a quarter empty with waiting until your tank is completely empty.  If your tank holds 12 gallons and you wait till its a quarter empty, you get three gallons.

Here are our assumptions: Tank size = 12 gallons.  Gas goes up $.05 every day.   Both drivers originally fill up when gas is $4.00 , but driver #1 refills at 3/4 of a tank and driver #2 fills up when completely empty.  

• Driver 1  buys 12 gallons on Day 1 - $4.00/gal x 12 gallons = $48.00
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 3 - $4.15/gal x 3 gallons = $12.45
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 5 - $4.30/gal x 3 gallons = $12.90
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 7 - $4.45 /gal x 3 gallons = $13.35
• Driver 1 buys 3 gallons on day 9 - $4.60/gal x 3 gallons = $13.80 
• So, Driver 1 has paid a total of $100.05  

 

• Driver 2 fills up on day 1 - $4.00/gal x 12 gallons = $48.00
• Driver 2 fills up on day 9 - $4.60/gal x 12 gallons = $55.20  
• Driver 2 has paid a total of $103.20  Just because driver 2 waited, he has had to pay $3.15 more than did driver 1.

This strategy may seem silly to you, but if you do this all the time, you will save a lot over the long run.  Combine this with only getting gas in the morning, and you save far more than you realize. Now, I know what you’re thinking.  ”Gas isn’t going up 5 cents every day, etc…”  It doesn’t matter.  The only way this strategy will hurt you is if prices are falling.  So, when prices start to fall (HA HA HA) you can then wait to fill up when your tank is empty.     

.  This last suggestion is really only for those who are mechanically inclined or are not afraid to experiment.  There are now a few sites devoted to teaching you how to use water to create hydrogen which then gets input into your engine.  It requires that you have a separate apparatus which holds the water and connects to the battery, but it isn’t as if you pour water in the gas tank.  At any rate there are a few sites that sell this for around $97.  I think its worth it, since almost everyone who has tried it has increased their mileage somewhat.  Some people claim to have increased their gas mileage by about 30%, but I think realistically it all depends on the kind of car you drive.  Generally you could expect to see about a 3 - 8 mpg increase.  That doesn’t sound like a lot, but over the long haul, you save a lot of money.  Anyway, the site I recommend and that has the best support is Water4Gas. Before you worry that it will ruin your car, it won’t.  As a matter of fact, it actually helps your car burn cleaner.

Save money at the Gas Pump

The price of gas is obscenely high.   I find it VERY hard to believe that the cost of oil and gas production has increased so much in the last two years that it would justify raising the price of gas almost $2.00 a gallon in just two years.  It makes me sick to pay so much.  In 1987 I moved to Dallas and I remember it used to cost me $12.00 to fill up my car.  I still drive the same kind of car today (but probably more fuel efficient that my 1980’s  model) and now it costs me close to $40 to fill up.   Thats more than triple in around 20 years.  Here are a few really good tips on how to save money on gasoline.  These days every penny counts.  If you start doing these filling up techniques, you will get more gas for your money and, of course,  it costs you nothing.  Be smart.  Fill up using these techniques:

Only buy or   fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening….your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.  A 1-degree rise i n temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps. 

When you’re filling up  do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode.   If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping.  All hoses at the pump have a vapor return.  If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor.   Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less worth for your money.   

One of the most important tips is to  fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL.   The reason for this is, the more gas you have in your tank the less air occupying its empty space.  Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine.  Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof.  This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation.

Another reminder,   if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas,  DO NOT fill up –most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom. Hope this will help you get the most value for your money. 

 

Other Folks Tips For Lowering Costs

I was reading some forums today, looking to see what other people do to reduce their costs.  It made me really happy to read them since people seem to be waking up to the fact that their financial future is in their own hands.  I love to see it when people take control of their finances!Here, then, are tips from other people trying to lower their own cost of living…1.  Check your cable bill… Comcast, Time Warner, etc…  cut back to the basic cable package since hardly anybody watches all the channels.2.  Get an internet-telephone-cable package at Comcast for $99 instead of separate bills for each.3.  Start budgeting. 4.  Bring your lunch to work.5.  Stop running to the store for just one thing and when you go, buy only whats on a shopping list and only buy store brand, not name brand.6.  Re-use things you might normally throw away, like tin foil, plastic bags, etc…7.   Get quotes on your car insurance when it comes up for renewal and SWITCH if you find it cheaper.  You can get free quotes at InsureMe. 8.  Get a faucet mounted water filter and a good water bottle.  That way you don’t need to buy bottled water.9.  Make your coffee at home and take it with you in a thermos.10.  Use online banking at your bank.  Automate your bills and never pay a late fee or for postage stamps.11.  Get a library card and stop buying books.  You can also get DVD’s at the library for no fee.12.  Buy a lipstick brush: there’s about 30% more lipstick in the bottom of the tube.13.  Cancel your gym membership unless you REALLY use it.14.  Cancel your land line telephone.   The bill is mostly taxes anyway.15.  Cancel your long distance plan and buy a prepaid phone card.  Its usually cheaper.16.  Use a clothes line instead of the dryer as much as you can.17.  Buy an electric blanket and turn the heat way down at night.18.  Challenge your spouse or your friends to a penny pinching contest.  It works!19. You can save a lot of money by planning your grocery shopping around sales. 20. Thrift stores!! Some people think that thrift stores are only for the down-on-their-luck, but everyone can find many great bargains! I buy all of my son’s clothes there (he’s six).

Get a Cash Back Debit Card

I always love opportunities for free money.   Since most of us use our debit cards pretty frequently, why not get a cash back debit card?  Consider this.  Right now you are using a debit card that doesn’t pay anything back.  If you were to switch, you might get $100 back at the end of the year.  Well, it doesn’t take a genius to know that that is $100 more than you would have gotten had you not switched.  Its free money!I looked for a few minutes to see what I could find.  Here is a short list of a few cash back debit cards you could get.

1. Washington Mutual - WAMU (As they like to call themselves) have a debit card called the WAMU Gold debit card that pays back $.03 each time you use it up to a total annual amount of $250.  www.wamu.com
2. CME Federal Credit Union in Columbus, OH has a cash back debit card that pays .25% back on all purchases that don’t require a pin number (you sign as if it were a credit card).  www.cmefcu.org
3. Umpqua Bank in the Willamette Valley of Oregon has their debit card enrolled in a program called Rainbow Rewards out of Denver that pays a variable percentage back, but only from participating stores, restaurants, etc…  From what I was reading, though, some of the percentages are quite high… up to 25% back.  www.umpquabank.com
4. PayPal has a debit card that you can link to one of your regular bank accounts, and as long as you use it like a credit card (i.e. you sign instead of using the pin),  you get 1% cash back on your purchases.  I think its a pretty good plan, but it doesn’t sound all that great for things like ATM withdrawls.  www.paypal.com
5. U.S. Bank - These guys have a debit card called the ‘Cash Bonus Visa Check Card’ which pays up to 25% back on purchases at 150 participating vendors.  I looked at the participating vendor list and it seems to have just about all the big name vendors, iTunes, Ace Hardware, American Eagle, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, The Home Depot, etc…  Only transactions not using a pin number qualify.  I checked on their free checking accounts and they really do, indeed, appear to be free. www.usbank.com 

As always, do your homework before signing up with anything and make sure you know any and all fees associated with it.

Watch Your Bank

You’ve got to watch your bank closely to make sure they don’t pull a fast one on you.  I have a Pier 1 credit card (which was taken over by Chase Bank) and on which I owed $317.00.  For one reason or another, I didn’t realize I owed them money and went on a several month trip overseas.  When I got home, I realized that I owed Pier 1 the money (now Chase, since they had taken over the credit card) so I called up Chase to find out the exact amount I needed to pay.

The Chase customer service rep told me I owed $317 (including late fees), so I paid it while we were on the phone.  When I hung up, I had this nice, warm fuzzy feeling that all my bills were paid and I didn’t need to worry about a bill coming from Chase next month. 

Well, guess what.  Early the following month, I went to the mailbox and there was a bill from Chase.  Before I even opened it, I began to get angry.  “Why the heck do I have a letter from Chase?” I asked.  I got inside the house, opened the bill and lo, and behold, a bill from Chase.  It was a bill for $3.11

Now, why did they send me a bill?  Good question.  I called them up right away and got a customer service rep who promptly said it was the amount I owed for November 07.  I said “Why do I owe anything for Nov?”

“Well” said the customer service rep, ” When you paid off the bill, it wasn’t the pay-off balance.  It was the balance as of the end of the prior month.”

I could have spit nails.

“Do you mean to tell me that when I called up and paid off what I thought was the balance, it wasn’t the balance?” I asked.

“Yes” said the customer service rep.

I practically flipped out.  I told him there was no way I was going to pay it, the moon would turn to green cheese before they saw that $3.11, etc…

To make a long story short, they took off the $3.11 from my account and now I genuinely have a ZERO DOLLAR balance.

But I had to find out the hard way.

Here is the bottom line.  If you pay off your credit card on time every month, as I ususally do, you won’t know.  You have to ask for the PAY OFF BALANCE and not just the BALANCE.  I don’t know whether this is a new tactic for bank credit cards now or not, but ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep track of what you paid and when you paid it, so when you have to fight with the bank, you will be prepared.