Guest Post - How to Save Money on Gas

Since I'm on the road this weekend, Alexis has offered to write a guest post.  I hope you find it as helpful as I did. 

How to Save Money on Gas

With gas prices showing no sign of lowering anytime soon, it’s hard not to be constantly strategizing about how you can save money on gas.

But believe it or not you can actually cut down a majority of your gas costs by simply driving the speed limit; in fact, your car could be using as much as 20 to 30 percent more gas just to drive at 70 miles per hour instead of 50 miles per hour, so keep this in mind the next time you want to put the petal to the metal.

There are also numerous ways you can save money on gas that are related to the maintenance of your vehicle by making sure it runs properly at all times. Be sure to check your tire pressure on a weekly basis, (if your tires are five pounds underinflated you will end up using 30 percent more gas), and replace your air filter to improve your gas mileage.

And if you are truly serious about saving on gas money, then you wouldn’t use your AC at all. However with the hot summer season slowly approaching this may be more difficult depending on where you live. If you do have to use your AC, then make sure you turn it off five minutes before you park your car, or try switching your air conditioner to an “economy” or “recirculation” setting to cut down on costs.

Also if you can, try parking your car in the shade because the gas in your tank will actually evaporate if your car is going to be sitting in the sun for longer periods of time. If you absolutely have to, then park your car so it’s facing away from the sun.

You could also cut down on gas costs by removing any unnecessary or heavy items from your car trunk, as an extra 100 pounds in your vehicle can actually reduce your MGP by 2 percent. If you own a truck, some say if you force your tailgate down you can get more gas mileage, however this is disputable.

If all else fails and you still finding yourself struggling to gather enough money to pay for gas, it may be a good idea to think about taking public transportation or carpooling with your family co-workers so you can not only save money on gas costs, but do your part in saving the environment too.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and researcher for College Scholarships, where recently she’s been researching grants for librarians as well as medical informatics scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.