Of course, you spend plenty of money on gas. Maybe not as much as just a couple of years ago when gas was approaching $4 per gallon, but it’s certainly enough. Would you like to spend less? It’s a lot easier than you think. Here’s a little bit of money-saving wisdom to consider:
Shop around – Seek out the best deal in your neighborhood or within a couple minute detour from your driving path into work every day. There are several phone apps that can help you, GasBuddy is one of the big ones.
Search out E85 – If you own a flex-fuel car, E85 is typically less expensive than regular gas.
Buy early in the day– Did you know that gas is denser earlier in the day, and also cooler? Pumping the substance into your vehicle’s tank when it is dense means that more of it will fit in!
Don’t purchase higher octane gas than you need – higher octane gas exists for a single reason, to permit for better combustion in high compression engines. Go with the octane level that your manufacturer recommends–it is in the owner’s manual.
Do you need to pay for “better gas”? – in a word, no. Gas companies throw additives in expensive grades to “improve your performance” and “keep your engine clean”. Although there is a little bit of truth to this advertising, studies show that any effects are quite minor. If you want to save money on every fill-up, skip the more expensive gas grades
Use a gas discount card – This is a major item. Many of the major gas station chains make discount cards available, so by all means consider one. These cards could save you up to 5% each fill-up. Add that savings up per year and you will find it’s a considerable sum of saved money.
Don’t purchase soda and snacks – This is where the stations make big margins on sales. It shouldn’t come as a shock that tossing money on items like soda, snacks and other food products will take away any savings you made on your purchase of gas.
Pay cash when there’s a discount – It’s not very common, but some gas stations will charge you less if you pay cash. This makes it so that the merchants won’t have to pay credit card companies a merchant fee and then pass the savings on to you.
Be careful of debit cards – If you pay with a debit card, your bank sets aside a certain amount of money to pay for the transaction. You could pay $15 for gas yet have $50 held by the bank before your transaction goes through. This could possibly lead to a bounced check if you are running monthly finances close to your current limit.
Make sure a gallon is a gallon – States check gas pumps’ accuracy, but some don’t do it that frequently. Arizona, for example, has only 18 employees to check some 2,300 stations. Be cautious of stations that have old equipment because occasionally inaccurate amounts of gas are dispensed.
Article Source: Fiat of Ft. Worth
