Summary of Gas Savings Tips

Gas prices are up again lately.    I've written a few articles about saving on gasoline over the years, seems like an opportune time to look back at them.  First of all, if you're concerned about gasoline prices then please don't run out and trade in your car for a moped.  A while ago I explained  Why You Shouldn't Buy a Moped to Save Gas

Gas prices go up and down and up

Gas was more 2 years ago.

Gas prices go up and down and I think high gas costs is something we're going to have to live with rather than panic over.   If you look at the History of Gasoline Prices there have been a lot of wild ups and downs.  I do think that $5 Gas is Coming... Eventually  It might happen within a year or it might happen within a decade. 


Practical and free gasoline saving tips

Saving on gas is of course a good frugal strategy.   First you need to use some common sense strategies for cutting your gasoline usage.   Most people can save money on gas with some simple strategies like driving slower and shopping around for cheaper gas. 
I had a 4 part series on the topic of saving money on gas:

How to Save Money on Gas #1,
How to save money on gas #2 - efficient cars,
How to save on gas #3 - Dont drive to far out of your way to save a nickel on gas and
How to save on gas #4 - using GasBuddy  
You can also find 17 gas saving articles from FreeMoneyFinance


Additional tips for gas savings by efficiency: 
Avoid idling your car because  idling your car costs about 2c per minute
Avoid devices that are supposed to save gasoline because they're all rip offs
Avoid over Priced Gasoline Stations which is really just common sense that we sometimes fail to use.
 

Prices are much worse in Europe
1.66 Euros / liter = $9 /gallon

Fuel efficient cars are a good long term bet
 
I don't think people should run out and buy a different car anytime that gas prices go up a bit.   But driving a fuel efficient car is a generally good long term strategy to cut your gasoline costs.

Gasoline savings alone are just one factor in car shopping.   Make sure you Figuring your real automotive spending and cost per mile  Look for used fuel efficient car because Buying a used efficient car can save typical Americans thousands a year   As an aid in shopping you can look for a list like this one Fuel efficient used cars  You probably don't 'need' a big fat V8 or V6 engine.  I bought a V4 engine in my Toyota and it has all the power I've ever needed.   Look for a 4 cylinder engine instead of a V6 to save $ long term

Hybrids and electrics are the future

Plug in Hybrids are coming soon

If you want to go to the extreme then an all electric or hybrid would give you the lowest gasoline costs.   A hybrid like a Prius can get you 50MPG and cut typical gas costs in half.   Fully electric cars use 0 gasoline but they are currently pretty expensive.   If you are interested in such cars then check out my look at them  Nissan Leaf versus a Toyota Prius   as well as my later 2nd look   If you're shopping in this category of car you may hear about the Chevy Volt.   You should also take a look at the Chevy Volt Efficiency
 


Photos by JacobEnos,  Markusram and mariordo59