SPEND LESS ON GAS

* Drive less.
Be honest with yourself.
You almost certainly drive more than you need too. Sometimes out of boredom. Sometimes it's just nice to get after a long day at work or home issues.
Still drive less.
If you feel the need to get away take a walk or turn your attention to something around the house you've been putting off.
Driving to just clear your mind comes with a pretty steep price.

* Plan your route. 
Do a better job doing it.
 Most likely you don't plan it at all, or if you do you probably don't do that great a job.
Few of us do.
 Strictly speaking every errand and engagement should be directly tied to your daily work route.
Mostly errands that take place after work.
 But anything that can be done before work is double plus good.
 It's one less after work task and usually a quick necessity morning trip to Walmart or Target will be a less crowded matter.

* Have it delivered. 
It's almost hard to believe how people miss this one.
Especially older people. 
Having something you need delivered to your doorstep not only saves you money you might be getting that much-needed item CHEAPER online anyway.
 A cheaper product combined with the convenience of to your door service and no gas spent makes this the only triple threat on this list. 
Theres literally no less expensive option!
 Note: If your going to regularly have products delivered to save money, and you should, consider Amazon Prime. 
No they're not paying me to say that.
 Yes free shipping is great.

* Schedule appointments around your work route as well. 
Dental and doctor appointments aren't commitments on your part until YOU agree to the time and place.
If its not a serious matter make the appointment so you can just go there after work. Just make certain you have more than enough time.
 Don't even come close to risk being late.

* Fill up early in the week. 
As the week goes into the weekend the price tends to go some.

* Avoid holiday fill ups if possible. 
It seems thats when we always see a sudden jump in prices.

* If possible gas up as early in the morning or late in the evening (whenever it's coolest) that you can.
Why? As gas gets warmer it expands results in more money for less gas.

* Replace filters often.  You'll get more miles per gallon (MPG) and less wear and tear on your gallon.

* Make sure you get the correct motor oil at oil change time. It actually does make a difference. 
Go online and find out for sure your getting whats right for your vehicle.

*  Keep your tires properly inflated.
This is a 3% difference and can be done FREE at the convenience of your home.
 Recently I purchased a "Husky" brand tire inflator, not even on sale, for under $30 from one of the big box stores.
 But wait theres more.  It can be plugged straight into the car lighter making it electricity and battery free. Now it costs nothing to keep our two vehicles tires at exactly the right tire pressure.
 Another Note: If your taking a trip out of town always have a portable air compressor like the one I mentioned and a spare can of "fix-a-flat". 
It might not fix a flat tire but it might buy you precious time if you have a tire going flat. 
Maybe just enough time to get to the tire shop. 
Always bring BOTH on any trip.

* It pays to shop around. Go online and find the cheapest gas in your area. Just make sure you are saving money if your going out of your way.

* Gas up at or Sam's Club or Cosco if your already a member and have to go there anyway. Usually they're the cheapest places to get gas anyway.

* In some (very rare) cases it might make sense to go across state lines if that cheaper. 
Very rare is it that this would work out but if your traveling over the state line gas up in the state thats cheaper.
Rare but it does happen.

* Use cash if theres a discount for it. Every station is different so get to know the situation at the station you use most.

* Check your credit card. See if theres a discount or cash back feature with your credit card.

* Carpool but only if it works.  Taking turns splitting gas depending on whose driving doesn't actually save money your just taking turns paying for gas.
 If a coworker is working the same hours as you anyway but without a car, and you don't mind, they can and should reimburse you for the gas used.

* Use cruise control whenever appropriate.
 Cruise control saves anywhere from 7% to 20% depending on who you ask and the typical speeds driven.
 Your savings will tend to trend up on highways. So if your doing a fair amount of highway driving put it on cruise. 
This is one you can't afford to not do.

* Pick your routes more carefully.
 Its not just enough to combine your errands you also want to plan the route itself. 
Avoid stop and go traffic for a slightly longer smother drive.

* No idling necessary.
 On cold days you can just start your car and go. 
Unlike cars of old.

*  Only use your air conditioning when absolutely necessary.

* Sometimes it's where you DON'T buy your gas that matters. Stay away from "convenient" near airports, casinos, etc.

* Check out discount gift card websites where you could score gas cards at below face value prices.

Sometimes the discounts are significant.
It's more miss than hit but you should still check.

* Try to at least occasionally work from home. 
 Even one day every two weeks is an instant 10% discount.
The key here is the leverage you have as an outstanding and trustworthy employee.

* Drive at or just under the speed limit.

* Never just leave your car running out of convenience.

* Most of us have a regular gas station where we do the majority of our filling up at. 
Take note what discounts and benefits they offer.  You may not get too steep a discount but more often than not you should expect your regular business to result in inexpensive things like free car washes or deep store discounts.

* Some grocery stores like Kreiger and Andersons offer a loyalty reward card that offers discounts at participating gas stations.
Just be absolutely certain the grocery  store your shopping at is the most economical grocery to begin with. Food costs more than gas. Otherwise its a poor trade-off.

* Drive sensible ALL the time. 
Yes it's good to use cruse control and stay within the speed limit.
Still don't waste gas by stopping too fast or taking off too fast.
 This is another one of those things drinking up considerable more gas than you realize.

* Choose your next vehicle with gas mileage in mind before you decide what you really want.
A little foresight is the rarest chance to save more than many of these listed items combined.
The best part is this is the one smart decision you only have to make once.
 At least until it's time to buy another car.

*  Keep all your cars maintenance issues in mind.
Not just filters and proper oil changes but spark plugs and other issues force your engine to work much harder and takes it out on your MPG.

* Roll up those windows.
 Open windows at fifty miles per gallon might be fun but it's not free.  Wind drag is a real thing so roll them up.

* Remove anything fixed to your car that doesn't belong there.
According to consumer reports those roof racks sitting innocently on your cars roof can make up to a 25% difference in gas mileage. 
Thats a massive difference.

* No junk in the trunk.
Its almost beyond belief how much, plainly put, junk is carried around for no reason whatsoever.
According to one report by the EPA the average car loses 2% for every hundred pounds of junk buried in there. 
No small number of us are carrying twice that amount or even more.
 Too many people are using the trunk and even their back seats as free or convenient storage.
Convenient?
 Maybe. 
But hardly free.

* Choose Regular gas. 
Were not fancy here.
 And you don't have to be either. 
Use the cheapest gas unless your car requires something different.

* Fill your tank all the way up everytime. 
Otherwise condensation might build up inside your gas tank and lowers your efficiency.

* Be a workplace taxi. 
A cool story.
One of the last full-time jobs I (Scrooge) ever had was a temp job that I only took because I was between work. 
To say it wasn't the greatest place to work is a bit of an understatement.
It was a well paying factory job but comprised overwhelming of other temp workers.
There were at least twenty people amongst the seventy or so temps who didn't have cars at all.
They mostly arranged a ride in from other people there. Some rode in on bikes and others close enough just walked. One guy working there took full advantage of the situation.
This fellow took four people home after work everyday and charged all four of them $3 per head. Most lived close by or near him.
I believe two of the guys he took home lived in the same apartment building as the driver did! He only took them home after work, not to work in the morning.
Thats $60 per week. At the very most the extra driving cost him $10 per week.
At most. 
Basically an extra fifteen minutes per day hassle was netting him free gas for the whole month.
In reality, he was not only getting free gas but pocketing an extra $100 per month easy.

* Don't tailgate. 
I can't even count how many times I've witnessed someone driving directly behind a tractor trailer so they could increase their gas mileage by "drafting".
Don't! Its illegal almost everywhere. It's extremely annoying to the tractor trailer operator AND IT'S REALLY DANGEROUS!

* Slow down well in advance. 
When your coming up to a light or stop sign lay off the gas and give your engine a well deserved break.
Don't be in a hurry when you have stop anyway.

* When going down steep inclines just coast down.
 Theres no need to help your car go downhill when it's doing just that anyway.

* Make sure your gas cap fits correctly. Evaporation through ill-fitted caps will cost you more than the price of a better gas cap in no time.

* Check your front-end alignment. 
Believe it.
 A poorly aligned front end forces your engine to work much harder than is necessary.
 Needless to say its not good for your car either.

* Take advantage of weird sales. 
Where we live different gas stations have unusual promotions pretty much year round. 
Recently one of these stations reduced their price to $1.76 for the fourth of July (1776 get it?).
Other stations do promotions like this too at various times.
This is the time to fill-up BOTH cars and anything else that drinks gas.

* Put the pride to the side. 
Unless circumstances dictate otherwise two car households need to utilize their vehicles wisely. 
That means the car with the better gas mileage does the most driving.  
It makes no sense at all for the beat-up pickup truck driving the twenty-mile drive (and back) while the gas sipping Camry used by the other spouse only has a four-mile tract.
 Gotta swap and deal with it.
 Also your now using the Camry whenever possible to save even more money. 
Get rich, then buy whatever you want.

* You can't go home again. 
If there is some after work appointment but find you have an hour or even more to kill don't just go home just to have to right back out again. 
Run some local errands, go to the library, or maybe try to grab another hour of overtime.

* If you drive a hybrid make sure it's fully charged so it doesn't need to switch to gas. 
You paid the price for electricity so use it.

* We mentioned gassing up at Sam's or Cosco. 
We didn't mention both stores offer gas cards that give you an even bigger discount, Sam's MasterCard offers you a 5% discount.
Cosco's visa offers a discount of 4%. Thats on top of an already discounted membership price.

* Don't top off to the point of being completely filled. Thats not good for your engine either.

* Its not just work you can make a little extra money. Theres lots of people who at least occasionally need an unanticipated life.
To the garage when they need their car fixed. 
To work when the car doesn't work. etc.
Take advantage without being scummy about it. 
You want to charge what is fair to both parties involved and not try to take advantage of people in a tight spot.

* Power everything down before starting your car.
 No need to start the A.C. and plug everything to the charger before you start your engine.

*  Pull over if your not going anywhere anyway.
 If your stuck in a real miles long traffic jam it's just  smarter to take the next available exit and wait it out.
 You can't do anything about traffic not moving.
 But sitting there going nowhere while your car idles won't make it better. 
Take a break and let your mind reset.

* Combine the shopping with a neighbor.
 If you and your neighbor are going to the same grocery or anywhere for that matter split the duties. Take the more efficient car.
Make sure the terms of cost splitting are clear and agreed upon ahead of time and that your only dealing with someone who can be trusted.

* Park further away from your destination.
 A little walking will probably be good for you.  Don't spend that extra ten minutes looking for a closer spot.

* In hot weather park in shade so you won't need to use the A.C. as much.

* In winter parked toward the sun so it will defrost your vehicle without the need of defrosting.

* Combine your work schedules if the situation arises. If one person has to go in late or leave early check to see if this would line up with a shared ride.
With the lower MPG car of course.

* Avoid Driving During Peak Times. Whenever possible avoid driving whenever traffic is likely heaviest.
Thats not always possible but it's always smart.

*  Skip the Drive-Thru.  Go inside and sit down in the nice A.C. or free heat avoid just sitting in traffic idling.