(Additional content at the bottom of this post -- May 19, 2013)
The price of gas jumped 30 cents per gallon in one week! That's huge! And it went up again yesterday from morning to afternoon. (edited: gas jumped another 10 cents Tuesday from morning to afternoon. We're close to a 50-cent increase in just 10 days.) Yikes! Whether this is just a tightening supply issue or something more, what can we do to save on fuel purchases?
Here's the thing. Most of us are already batching our errands. We're driving sensibly -- easing into the acceleration, and beginning to slow before needing to actually break for a stop light. We're doing the things we've been told to keep our fuel use down.
This past month, I've been studying up on how we can save even more on our gas, without too much extra work, time, or know-how when it comes to cars. So, I thought I'd share with you, what's been working for our family.
Maybe you already know these 5 tips. But sometimes, a little reminder gets us back to actually following them. Read on.
1) When driving around town,
unroll the windows instead of turning on the A/C. This is a good time of year for using windows for ventilation, as we haven't reached the super hot days of summer, yet. A rule of thumb number is about 40 MPH. Speeds above, use your A/C. Speeds below, use windows. There are a lot of variables with this basic formula -- make, model and year of car, but basically about 40 MPH is the number.
I checked a couple of different sites on this. Mythbusters recommended 45 MPH, but their testing didn't seem as scientific as that from this site, auto.howstuffworks.com, which recommended the 40 MPH.
I am a lover of A/C. But for in-town driving, I am using my windows this spring. What about the whacky hair that window's down can cause, you wonder? To keep myself from looking like Einstein's sister, when I arrive at my destination, I've been using a scarf to contain my curly locks.
2)
Keep your tire pressure to the manufacturer's recommendation, for your vehicle. You can find this information in your owner's manual, online for your vehicle, or on the inside of the jamb of the driver's door.
So you've heard this before. But did you know that you can improve your fuel efficiency by up to 3%, simply by maintaining proper tire pressure? If you're spending $150 per month on gas for your cars, multiplied by 12 months, that 3% is over $50, by the end of the year, my friend!
Many gas stations have air refilling pumps, some charge 25 cents or so, but many are free. This is a super cheap way to gain back some of that $$ that gas price increases have stripped away from us.
One of our cars has a tire with a very slow leak. It needs a top off of air every one to two months. Until we can get this tire patched, checking air pressure and adding a bit here and there is one of the cheapest things we can do to boost our fuel efficiency. The gas station we use offers free air, so no cost, just a tiny amount of time.
What about over-inflating your tires. This myth has been around for a while, that if under-inflating your tires reduces fuel economy, then over-inflating should improve fuel economy, right? Wrong. According to Popular Mechanics, not only do you not boost fuel economy by over-inflating your tires, you create undue risk to yourself, as handling is compromised on over-inflated tires.
3) This tip is more likely to save you time, which you could put to better use, which in turn could potentially save you money.
Know your car's cost per mile. Cost of gas per gallon (or litre) divided by your vehicle's MPG (or miles per litre). Use this to figure if driving out of your way to get cheaper gas is cost-efficient. So, yesterday's gas price was $3.58 per gallon. Our car gets 24 MPG. Our car's cost per mile is about 15 cents, when the cost per gallon is about $3.60.
If I drive 5 miles out of my way to buy cheaper gas, then I need to save about 75 cents on that fill-up to "break even". We typically put about 11 to 12 gallons into our car per week. If gas is only 3 cents cheaper per gallon, but I have to drive 5 miles out of my way, then I've only saved about 35 cents on that fill-up, and don't reach the "break even" point. But if gas is 10 cents less per gallon, and 5 miles out of my way, my savings on the price of gas is about $1.20/fill-up, or about a 45 cent profit. Depending on the value of my time, this may or may not be enough of a savings to drive out of my way.
Even driving just 1 mile out of my way will cost me 15 cents in gas, and most of the time, isn't worth it to me if I will only be saving 3 cents per gallon, for 11-12 gallons, or 33 to 36 cents savings, netting me just 18 to 21 cents total.
If your car only gets about 20 MPG, then at yesterday's prices in our area, your cost per mile is about 18 cents. Driving 5 miles out of your way will cost you 90 cents. If your tank holds about 13 gallons (which is about average for sedans), and you fill it to FULL every time, you would need a price difference of about 7 cents per gallon just to break even.
The poorer your car's fuel economy, and the smaller the price difference in different gas stations, combined with the less gas you add to the tank at a time, then the less valuable it is to drive out of your way for a few cents worth of savings per gallon. You can probably find something more lucrative to do with your time, than driving all around town to save a couple of pennies.
The most cost-effective way for us to buy our gas, is to make a stop at the lowest-priced gas station, that also happens to be along my regular route, or is very close to someplace I need to go anyway.
My son drives 20-25 miles to work each way, each day. When his tank is low, he checks seattlegasprices.com to find the lowest-priced gas at both ends of his commute. He discovered that it's less expensive to fill up down near his office. Getting gas near your destination, instead of near your home, on a regular basis, could save you a couple of dollars per month.
4)
Buy gas on Wednesday mornings, before 10 AM. When you buy your gas matters, especially with a holiday coming up. Memorial Day is just around the corner for the US. Canada has Victoria Day next Monday, May 20. If you know you will likely need fuel just before or during that weekend, refuel a few days early, like on the Wednesday morning before the holiday. Wednesday mornings, before 10 AM is often the least expensive time and day of the week to buy gas, and by refueling a few days ahead of the long weekend-pack, you'll snag a cheaper price per gallon.
If you've been in the habit of buying your gas any other time of the week, an article from business.time.com explained why Wednesday mornings are THE best time/day of the week to buy your gas. Switching our gas buying routine from Sundays (our old day to buy gas) to Wednesdays is saving us a few dollars per month, or over $30 per year.
5)
Make sure you are driving the most economical car (that you already own) for your purpose. In the US, many families have 2 cars. Usually one car is designated as Mom's car and the other is designated as Dad's car. You may want to switch this up during the week. If your car gets better fuel economy than your husband's, but you need to travel less during the week, it may make sense for the two of you to switch cars, so that the person traveling more miles per week is driving the car that gets better MPG. We get into habits. And this is one habit you may want to alter.
What are gas prices doing in your area? Did you notice a huge jump in price this last week? What are your plans for dealing with rising gas prices?
One thing I'll be doing this summer, is riding my bike more for errands around town.
(added content 5/19/13) The price of gas in our area has now gone up over 60 cents per gallon in two weeks time. For one of our cars, that's over $7 per week. What am I going to do about it?
Well, I'm carefully laying out my driving plans for the week. I managed to shave 25 miles off my driving this past week, by making 3 trips to our church for drop offs and pick-ups for activities rather than 5 trips, by finding work that I either needed to take care of, or could volunteer for, and be nearby my daughters, minimizing my driving to/from.
I've changed my driving style, allowing more time to get to my destination, accelerating slowly, taking my foot off the gas pedal and coasting for a bit before braking, all the stuff they tell you to do to lessen gas consumption.
And I will likely have to allocate more money towards gas in our budget, and reduce another category, especially when it comes to our family vacation later in the summer.
If you came to my site via Google or other search engine, then I'm assuming that prices have risen for gas in your area, too. Some cities have been impacted more than others. If you are uncertain whether to buy gas today, or hold off for a day or two, gaspredictor.com could give you the info that you need. They base their forecasts on Futures trading.
What are you paying per gallon this week?