Frugal Intuition

For the last couple of years gas prices have done nothing but go up up up.   Prices were approaching $5 a gallon on a recent trip to Atlanta.  Recently prices have been going down (I got gas for $2.19 last night), but I’m firmly convinced this is just because of the election and that they’re going to go back up in short order.  No matter what prices do, it pays off at the pump to be savvy about your usage of gas.

First off, do some scouting before you purchase.  Check out Gas Buddy.  This site allows you to enter your zip code and find all your local gas prices (or as many as have been reported).  Once you have the prices in sight, it’s time to do some planning.

Rather than waiting until the last minute and making multiple runs to pick up this or that, plan your errands for the week.  Make your lists for the grocery, Walmart, the drug store, dry cleaners, wherever.  Plot out your route for all these stops and get them all done on the same day.  It’s more efficient to drive from one stop to the next than spreading them out on separate days.  While driving, try to stick to the speed limit.  Take the shortest route from stop to stop. This means you use less gas overall.  On your errand day, plan that route to go by the cheapest gas price in your area and fill up.

Also, be sure to keep up maintenance on your car.  Get that oil changed on time.  Keep your air filter clean.  And from time to time, hit your tank with fuel injector cleaner.  It makes your engine run more efficiently.

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