I am not a car person, but I have learned several things from having worked at Enterprise rent-a-car as well as people who ARE car people. Most people don’t realize that the way they drive their cars has an effect on their wallet. In this day and age – with gas prices being what they are – you can start to implement habits to help you. There a quite a few tips and tricks that you can do to start seeing the benefit of increased savings (long term). See below for an extensive list:
–When you are approaching a red light, take your foot off the accelerator well before you arrive. The vehicle will begin to slow down on its own and then gently apply the brake to come to a full and complete stop. This will save wear and tear on your brakes and tread on your tires.
–When driving around town, make sure you do not punch the accelerator as soon as it turns green. You can gently apply pressure to the accelerator allowing you to gradually increase your speed. Don’t worry about the person behind you, they can go around!
–Make sure you check your air filters. Many folks do not regularly check their air filters (should be around 15k miles) to replace when dirty. This will allow cleaner air to circulate which will be less taxing on the engine.
–Inflate your tires to the proper PSI. Having properly inflated tires will allow you to get better gas mileage. There is a reason why the factory recommends the PSI rating.
–Batch your errands. Really plan out your route to determine what shops are the closest to what you need to get accomplished. If it is out of the way, save it for another day!
–Cruise Control. Use cruise control whenever you can. Freeways are an especially great place to do this, but for some smaller highways / streets, you can get away with cruising at 45 MPH.
—If you have a clutch, you can use a combination of the clutch and neutral to “coast” instead of braking. Also, you can utilize the brakes more frequently than the clutch since the cost to replace the clutch vs the cost to replace the brakes is way more expensive.
What other ways do you implement in order to save money on gas??
Madsen Financial Coaching 