Dealing with gas can be a hassle, especially with the increase in gas prices. The national average for regular gas was $3.70 per gallon as of September 15th, 2022. It’s important to keep in mind that this can be more expensive depending on the type of gas you get. For example, mid-grade gas and premium gas have higher averages per gallon. For a gallon of mid-grade gas, the national average was $4.14. On the other hand, for a gallon of premium gas, the national average was $4.45! There’s still hope for you to save money on gas using different methods.
How Can You Save Money on Gas?
Some research shows that the estimated spending of American families in 2022 on gas is $2,000. A family in a tough financial situation can find this very costly. For this reason, you may need to look up ways to save money! Here are some things you could do to save on gas:
- Consider Your Driving Skills
- Know When to Fill Your Tank
- Discover Gas Stations with the Best Prices
- Keep Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency in Mind
- Manage Your Car’s Maintenance
- Use Cash When Paying for Gas
- Take Advantage of Gas Reward Programs
Consider Your Driving Skills
Many ideas come to people’s minds when they imagine a good driver. Considering your driving skills can definitely make you a great driver. How you drive can greatly affect how much you spend on gas in many ways.
Drive Carefully
How can you drive more safely? Let’s discuss being careful while driving. You should always avoid driving aggressively. A driver that consistently drives at a high speed, makes sudden stops, etc., may be considered aggressive. Those who don’t have these types of aggressive driving habits can save on gas just by driving more carefully.
Make Proper Travel Plans
Let’s imagine you have a 14-mile drive you need to make. You have two options: the 27-minute route or the 48-minute route. Driving that extra 21 minutes is unneeded and results in you consuming more gas than necessary. This is why you should research the best ways to take while planning your trips! You can use navigation apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and more.
Reduce Your Driving
Let’s explore a specific situation. Let’s say you enjoy driving to a coffee shop that is 3 minutes away from your home. If possible, you could decide to walk that distance rather than take your car. By choosing to walk instead of driving, you will use less gas.
Better Control of Parking
Circling the parking lot in an effort to get the best spot is another way people waste gas. By doing this, people burn gas that they don’t necessarily need to. Maybe you could just park further away from your destination rather than stalling and wasting gas. You can even use apps to find parking!
Know When to Fill Your Tank
You must take good care of the things in your life, including your car. The type of gas that cars use is something important to know. While certain cars need only premium gas, others may do just fine with normal gas. If you are in financial difficulty and your car doesn’t need premium gas, you shouldn’t spend extra money on it. You should always make sure your decision is in line with your car’s requirements. You can contact a car dealership specializing in your car brand to find out for sure.
Getting gas on the right day is another option to save money. This is thanks to research showing that, on average, Mondays are the cheapest days to buy gas. On the other hand, Thursday is the most expensive day.
Discover Gas Stations with the Best Prices
The closer you are to a city, the higher the gas prices will be. This is something people commonly see. For example, the price of gas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida is likely to be higher than the price of gas closer to Pensacola, Florida. This goes to show how necessary it is to choose the right gas station. Some gas stations are less expensive than others, so explore around your neighborhood to find the best deal!
Trying to benefit from memberships is another way that people can get gas at a lower price. For instance, Costco, a wholesale company, provides its customers with cheaper gas! Typically, a gallon of gas at Costco is 60 cents less expensive than one at a Mobil station.
Keep Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency in Mind
Every car has needs, as we already mentioned. When it comes to cars, their level of fuel efficiency is another factor that changes. Some cars are not very fuel-efficient. The distance a car can travel on just one gallon of gas is referred to as fuel efficiency. Fuel efficiency will vary between models of cars. If the fuel efficiency of your car isn’t the best, then investing in a car that is better at managing the amount of gas it can hold could be beneficial for you.
Manage Your Car’s Maintenance
Many individuals are familiar with routine car maintenance such as oil changes, wiper fluid, and so on. However, other elements of car maintenance may have an effect on how your car uses gas. A car that is not properly maintained may use more fuel than one that gets regular maintenance.
Use Cash When Paying for Gas
If people pay in cash instead of a credit card, they might save up to 10 cents per gallon. This is due to the fact that certain gas stations charge a fee on customers who pay with a credit card. As a result, prices increase! Every time 12 gallons are filled, those who pay in cash can save on average $1.
Take Advantage of Gas Reward Programs
A rewards program is not something every gas station offers, but some do. These reward programs can help people in receiving some great benefits including lower gas costs, free points that can be used for shopping at the gas station, and more. One deal offered by 7-Eleven, for example, allows customers to save 11 cents per gallon for the first seven fill-ups.
To Sum Up
There are numerous ways to cut your gas costs:
- Consider Your Driving Skills
- Know when to Fill Your Tank
- Discover Gas Stations with the Best Prices
- Keep Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency in Mind
- Manage Your Car’s Maintenance
- Use Cash when Paying for Gas
- Take Advantage of Gas Reward Programs
By making sure you only stick to the tips above, you may be able to save a huge amount of money in the future!