Cars are some of the most driven pieces of transportation for most of us. As gas prices go up, we try to figure out the best ways to save money on this expense. We try to figure out how to save money on gas, and many others have found similar ways to save.
It is reported that 90% of households spend close to $3000 on gasoline per year. This number is enormous. When I used to drive a car, purchasing gasoline was a once-a-week occurrence as I think about it. The price of the gas would fluctuate, so I would try to find the best and cheapest prices. For our monthly budgets, transportation is a considerable cost.
According to Dave Ramsey’s budget percentages, people should be spending about 10% per month on transportation. Unfortunately, he isn’t always right, so we will find ways to save money on gas.
Here Are 14 Ways on How To Save Money on Gas
1. Carpool
One of the easiest ways to save money on gas is to spend less time driving. That may be an easy one for sure, but we all need to get to places. You can carpool. Carpooling allows you to save money on gas by splitting the payment with others in the car.
Having a ride to places is necessary, but if you know others going to the exact location or workplace, then grab a ride. This can cut down on your gas spending.
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2. Fuel-efficient Car
We are in the times of fuel-efficient vehicles. Tesla has hit the ground running creating electric cars, and other automotive companies are also jumping on board. So you have plenty of choices to choose from in electric vehicles.
Plus, if you do not want an electric car, you can choose an efficient vehicle for gas usage. Usually, these can be smaller vehicles because they take less power to move less weight.
3. Gas Station Rewards Programs
Gas stations even offer rewards programs for shopping with them. Some of the major gas stations offer great rewards, such as BP, Exxon, and Shell.
- BPme Rewards offers savings of 5 cents per gallon for a month, and keep that rate if you spend $100 the next month.
- Exxon Mobile Rewards+ offers 3 points per gallon on fuel and 2 points for every dollar at the convenience store. So after 100 points, that would be $1 off at the pump.
- Shell Fuel Rewards offers 10 cents off every gallon if you spend $50 at certain restaurants, 5 cents off every gallon if you spend $50 on certain online retailers, and 10 cents discount on every gallon for spending $50 at certain live events.
Each way gives you a chance to save money at the pump. It is good to find a particular pump you usually go to and sign up for their rewards to save on the gas price.
4. Apps To Find Cheap Gas
There are apps out there that can help locate different gas stations based on price. For example, there is one app called GasBuddy. It is an app that is very accurate in finding the best gas prices around. You can even use it as part of a Gas station rewards program, which can save you up to $0.20 per gallon. These are some massive savings for your budget.
There are other apps out there that can save you on gasoline as well. For example, Waze and AAA have apps that can help you locate local gas stations to help you get the best prices.
5. Rewards Credit Cards
There are plenty of credit cards that give rewards on spending at gas stations. For example, you have such cards as the Citi Premier, Chase Freedom Flex, and the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card that all give 3x or more per $1 spent at gas stations.
- Citi Premier 3x per $1 spent at gas stations.
- Chase Premium Flex has a rotating bonus of 5x per $1.
- AMEX Blue Cash Preferred 3x per $1.
It is fantastic what credit cards can give you. You could use those bonuses to pay off your gas bill. These rewards can help bring those gas bills down.
6. Cash Instead of Card
I know I just spoke about using your credit card, but sometimes you are in a place where the gas station charges more for using the card. At that point, it is better to use cash. A lot of small operations refuse to use cards because the credit card company charges a transaction fee. So they will lower the price based on cash so they not to be charged the credit card transaction fee.
If you get a much lower price and the price is lower than you would get from using your card bonuses, that is a win. However, sometimes it pays to go with cash.
7. Buy Gas Early in the Week
The saying goes, “the early bird catches the worm.” Early in the week, like on Mondays and Tuesdays, gas prices tend to be lower. However, the price goes up later on in the week when people will be out traveling.
This time it is better to fill up earlier in the week instead of waiting until you need some gas. Being prepared before the price rises on the weekend is a great way to save on gas money.
8. Reduce Your Driving
One of the best ways to save on gas is not to drive as much. This means that if you drive less, then less money comes out of your pocket. Usually, there will be excellent public transportation in higher cost of living areas that can help you reduce your costs. These can be such things as using public transportation like a bus, metro, or train.
One of my favorite frugal methods to get around is using a bicycle. Riding a bike is good exercise, and it reduces the cost of gasoline as well that you would need to use in your vehicle.
9. Work From Home
These days, plenty of people are working from home. It is a significant money saver. You can save a lot of money by not transiting to work and back. Commuting is not always the best bang for your buck. So being able to work from home can help you save some money.
10. Reduce Weight
Try to keep the weight down inside of your vehicle. An extra 100 pounds in your car could reduce your MPG by about 1%. When having heavy things left in your car all the time can put pressure on your engine to produce more power. The less weight, the better.
Even if you have things on the top of your roof like a roof rack, these can create unnecessary drag, reducing the vehicle’s gas efficiency.
11. Reduce A/C and Heat
In the summer and winter, people are known for blasting their A/C and heat. It is something we will do to feel comfortable. The more we blast these comforts, the more fuel it uses. This also produces a cost on our fuel consumption.
The debate comes in to see if we should use rolling down our windows over blasting the A/C. Rolling down the window creates an unneeded drag that can cause more fuel consumption. So what you should do is move it down a little as you drive slower speeds and use the A/C sparingly when you are at higher speeds.
12. Tires Inflated
Keeping tires inflated is a must to reduce the cost of fuel. With properly inflated tires, your gas mileage by 0.6% on average—up to 3% in some cases. This can be a $0.02 per gallon savings. As you think about it, keeping your car in good shape is like keeping your body in shape. The less weight it has, the less energy it needs to burn. If everything is kept to the manual’s requests, such as properly inflated tires, the recommended oil, and tune-ups, your car should be very efficient for gasoline.
13. Wholesale Clubs
Wholesale club memberships also have a way of reducing your costs. You can find lower prices at your local Sam’s Club or even Costco for being a member. These savings can add up. A lot of these wholesale clubs will have discounts on gasoline just for being a member. So it never hurts to save a couple of cents just for being a member.
14. Accelerate Gradually
When you are behind the wheel, you may want to drive like Jeff Gordon or Richard Petty, but you need to realizes that you cannot always accelerate when you drive. It is not suitable for the consumption of gas. It would help if you tried to accelerate slowly and cruise. This is where a lot of the savings come in with gasoline.
Being the fastest car on the block is not suitable for being the most frugal car. Slow acceleration and slow breaking helps to reduce your carbon imprint and reduce the amount of fuel being consumed.
Changing your behavior with driving can reduce your consumption of fuel by 5%-30%. That number can help you to save more money, in which you can then invest for your future in something. This can help you to live below your means.
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Final Thoughts
There are many ways to reduce the cost of gas. As you can tell, here is a list of 14 ways on how to save money on gas. There are numerous ways to save on fuel consumption and just driving in general. As you want to think about saving money, transportation is a way to save on money and to be able to use those savings to invest or even pay off debt.
One of the best ways is to reduce driving in general. In society, driving is seen as a much-needed feature. Still, public transportation, carpooling, and even riding a bike give avenues to reduce driving and saving on gas and maintenance that comes with car ownership. It pays to save. So let’s use some of these tips to reduce our spending and use to for something better.
How will you save money on gas? What are some ways you have thought about?
Cummings is the founder of the personal finance blog The Frugal Expat. As a traveler and expat, he has learned a lot about how to save money, live frugally, and invest for the future. His mission is to help people in saving, investing, and reaching financial independence.