These days filling up the gas tank on my 2003 Chevy Blazer is rather painful.
Gas is currently running about $3.75 a gallon here in Upstate New York, and I’m doing what can be done in the winter months to save money by using less gas!
1. Don’t make unnecessary trips.
There was a time (years back) where I’d run into Binghamton (30 minutes away) to hit the shops just because I was bored and hadn’t been out of the house for a couple of days. Not any more! If I don’t have a real reason that I have to head into town then I stay put!
2. Organize your errands with a plan.
When I do head to town I save up all my errands for the same day. Then I make a list of all the places I need to go and plan my route to have the least amount of backtracking or rushing. Less miles driven means less gas used, and less rushing means driving slower (see #5 below)!
3. Consolidate trips with others.
Carpooling and ride sharing are getting much more common place among my friends. I frequently ask Yankee Bill to stop and run errands for me on his way home from work-after all, he drives right by the store anyway! As an added bonus, I think it’s really sinking in with him how much the grocery prices are sneaking up now that he does some of the shopping for me.
4. Skip the “warming up”.
In really cold weather if I’m making a drive that is going to last less than 10 minutes-say running something up to the school for the kids, or doing an errand here in the village I don’t bother warming up the car-why waste gas and run the car for longer than I’m even going to be in it just to have a bit of heat? Instead I throw on a hat & gloves with my coat. I also keep a couple of old knit blankets in the back of the car. If the kiddos complain about the cold, I tell them to wrap themselves up!
If you have to preheat the car, figure out the minimum time it takes to get it warm and only heat it for that long.
5. Drive slower.
Yes, driving more slowly really does give you better gas mileage. According to FuelEconomy.gov: “You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.27 per gallon for gas.”
6. Use alternate transportation.
Walking or riding my bike are my primary ways of reducing my gasoline usage in the temperate months of the year. Of course I’m not going to walk or bike into Binghamton–but here around the village we can walk to the bank, to church, to the library, even to some friends houses. We try to walk as much as possible. When it’s cold, well, comfort still trumps money at this point.
Hubs will be driving one of his motorcycles to work instead of the car much more frequently this spring and summer. Great gas mileage and lots of fun–but you do need decent weather!
I’d also be a big advocate of public transportation as a way to save gas and money if there were any available! My village does link into the county bus system-but it doesn’t connect in to Binghamton (which is just over the county line). It runs in the other direction and does take us to a town with a Walmart, Weis Market etc. . . but the times are very very inconvenient. One of these days I’ll take the bus just for the experience of it and to write a post, but suffice it to say that in my rural situation that it is just not an optimum alternative.
What methods do you use to try to keep your gas prices down?
I love these tips, and most make sense from a time-management standpoint too.
However, I need to disagree with #4 Skip The Warming Up. A car’s engine needs to warm-up before being put to use. It’s necessary for the engine to work properly. So in order to save on car repair, warm up the car’s engine. In order to save on gas, don’t warm up the car’s interior.
Hi Cara – I originally heard that too. But a few years ago heard that it was unnecessary. Here is an article which states that, while that is true for old, old cars, new cars don’t need the warm up.
http://www.cartalk.com/content/do-cars-need-warm-cold-winter-mornings
I don’t have a car. So I walk to the bus stop (and I buy a monthly bus pass for 30.00 every month–some months I can’t really justify the 30.00 BUT I never have exact change for the bus)
It would be better though if the buses ran more often. Weekdays every 40 minutes, Saturdays every 80 minutes, Sunday not at all. And the latest bus I can take to get me home is 5:30 pm, cuts out night activities altogether.
Maybe once my leg gets better and I lose some weight I can walk more
We do most of the same things here, except not warming up the car…because I HATE being cold! It is such a blessing to live where we can walk to downtown, parks, the library, etc.
I just bought a used car. Yes I’m posting a monthly payment, but I’m gaining 10-12 mpg which justifies the cost, mainly due to my job in which I travel easily 500to sometimes over 1000miles per week not including personal use. That’s my big gas saver
I saw the proof of Drive Slower. I drive a Prius in Los Angeles. With the stop and go, I know that the engine is off when I stop or if I am going under 20. Because it shows the exact mileage as you drive, you can see the difference. If I am driving to work and listening to an audiobook (therefore enjoying myself) I drive slower and get much better mileage. If I forgot the book, then I am in a hurry to get there and out of the car, so I drive faster. It can be a difference of 15 -20 mpg.
Wow Angela-that is a HUGE difference! Thanks for sharing!
Walking/Bike riding commuter! Encouraging others to do the same. We use public transportation when we can (me and the kids, not the hubby!)
Along with planning your route and errands, I try to plan to make right turns as much as possible. If you are constantly waiting to turn left, your car uses more gas. (This a trick that UPS uses when planning their delivery routes!)
So my 16 YO’s lead foot came to bite him. So while he cannot drive, Hubby and I have been driving the 97 Honda Civic we got for him to get to school and parking Hubby’s Mini-van. It is hard for us old folk to get in and out of such a low car, and the back does not always like to be hitting the clutch, but we are talking about 27 MPG vs the 19 MPG of the van. Fortunately, I got a new job working from home, so Hubby now drives my Prius to work and I drive the Honda to take the 16 YO to school. The van sits int he driveway. (the Honda has the garage spot so we don’t have to scrape the windshield.) Once the 16 Yo turns 17 and can drive again, the an will still stay in the driveway most of the time.
usally when I have to plan my trips I have to go from one side of town to another and back again for school pickups. does any one know of an app or something that can help plan where to go when? and which way? we have a lot of diagnal roads here and I am alomst always backtracking because I get turned around, or because it took to long to get from planned A to B, then have to go to D, then back to C. instead should have done B, then C, then D, then to A ans then home… or something like that… It get very frusterating! 🙁