Start Saving Money at the Gasoline Pump

As of August 2011, depending on the part of the country, gas prices ranged from $3.30 to more than $3.50 a gallon. The trend started years earlier.  In fact, for the second time in less than five years crude prices increased at the start of October of 2010. Those price increases saw the price of a gallon of gasoline rise at the pump. According to the October 8, 2010 Lundberg Survey across the United States the average price of a gallon of gasoline at a self-service station was $2.77.  

This represents an eight cents increase over the $2.69 a gallon drivers were paying at self-service stations as of late September. Triby Lundberg (creator of the Lundberg Surveys) told CNN Travel that, “We may be seeing perhaps another nickel rise if crude does not withdraw from its recent high.”

Gasoline prices typically increase during summer months (when drivers tend to hit the road on vacation). However, this year the increase came at the end of summer. Regardless of when gasoline prices go up, there are steps that you can take to keep fluctuations in gasoline prices from putting a dent in your wallet. 

Easy Ways to Save Money at the Gasoline Pump

For example, you could: 

• Conduct all of your visits to the mall, grocery store, etc. on one trip (rather than going back and forth from home to each of the different stores)
• Avoid using credit cards to pay for gas (if you don’t pay off the entire bill in 30 days you could end up paying interest or/and late fees)
• Ask friends who live in other parts of town how much gas is close to where they live. If the gas is cheaper in another area that is less than seven miles away from where you live fill up there.
• Fill up at a gas station close to where you work if gas is cheaper there
• Keep your car tuned up and in good shape (a poorly functioning car could turn into a gas guzzler)
• Walk or ride a bicycle to destinations that are located in safe areas and that are less than two miles away from your place of residence
• Consider taking public transportation to attend weekend getaway events
• Car pool with a relative, friend or colleague (split the costs of gas with people that you carpool with)
• Use regular gas if your vehicle does not require a higher grade of gasoline to function properly
• Pull up to the self-service pump rather than full-service

More Ways to Save Money on Gasoline

Of course, you could also ride a motorcycle versus driving a car to and from work.  And you could purchase a battery operated car instead of a car that only operates using gasoline. According to EcoWorld some hybrid or battery powered cars can reach a speed of 180 miles per hour.

EcoWorld states that a 250 mile trip in a hybrid would “require four gallons of gas and 45 kilowatt-hours of grid electricity. At $3.00 per gallon & .10 per kilowatt-hour, your combined-fuel cost per mile would be about five cents.” Work and research continue to be performed on hybrids (they use a combination of electricity and gasoline). The coming years will reveal what the next major mode of transportation will be for us.

Presently and with a bit of creative thinking, you can find ways to save money at the pump. In fact, why not consider sitting down for only three minutes and seeing how many additional ways to save money on gas you can add to the above list.

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Sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/09/26/gas.prices/index.html (CNN Travel: Gas prices up as crude price increases)

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/106195/article.html (Edmunds: Save Money on Gas)

http://www.lundbergsurvey.com (Lundberg Survey)

http://www.ecoworld.com/transportation/the-battery-powered-car.html (Eco World: The Battery Powered Car)