People who wish to save money often neglect one of the easiest ways to trim their monthly expenses: reducing automobile fuel costs. Most hardworking individuals commute to their jobs or school on a daily basis. The expense of operating a motor vehicle for the purpose of commuting to a job or school can cost a household hundreds of dollars per month. Many drivers don’t understand that the way that they operate their vehicle and how they maintain it can make a significant impact on the amount of fuel they consume. Fuel consumption costs amount to the largest expenditure associated with owning a vehicle over the automobile’s life.
Slowly Accelerate
Vehicles use a large amount of gasoline when starting from a stop and accelerating to cruising speeds. Drivers who rapidly accelerate from a stop and reach their cruising speeds quickly by excessively depressing their vehicle’s gas pedal will find that their fuel tank will be empty long before it needs to be.
One of the best ways to reduce the amount of gasoline your car or truck uses is to slowly accelerate out of stops and gradually increase the vehicle’s velocity to the desired cruising speed. By employing this simple tactic, you may find that you have to fill your vehicle’s fuel tank less frequently.
A good way to gauge how hard your vehicle is working during acceleration is to monitor the tachometer on the vehicle’s dash. As the rpms increase, the vehicle’s engine is using a greater amount of fuel to operate. Slowly accelerating will allow the vehicle to achieve your desired speed without using an excessive amount of fuel.
Slow Down
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that for every five miles-per-hour that a person drives over the speed of 60, vehicle gas economy is reduced by the equivalent of approximately $0.24 per gallon [1]. If that statistic alone weren’t enough compel a person to carefully monitor vehicle condition and driving behavior for the purpose of saving gasoline, then perhaps the following tip will.
Reduce the Weight
According to the University of Nebraska, for every extra 50 lbs. of weight that an automobile must carry, a reduction in fuel economy of 1% can be experienced [2]. This extra weight can easily be found in the form of miscellaneous items that are stored in a vehicle’s trunk and books, bags and clothing that are left inside of the passenger or storage compartments.
Even extra body weight should be considered excess baggage. The theory of body weight reduction is criticized by some, including science blogger Eric Berger. On his blog, Mr. Berger cites a study indicating that “someone who drives about 12,000 miles annually, study co-author Sheldon Jacobson says, losing 100 pounds would save $40 worth of gas annually [3].” While most drivers do not even have 100 extra pounds of body weight to lose, the dual benefit of improved health and a few extra bucks in gas savings would be worth the effort of losing at least some body weight.
The U.S. Department of Energy confirms that reducing excess weight that a vehicle carries can improve fuel economy. The agency has published data indicating that reducing a vehicle’s load by 100 lbs. can save the average driver between $0.03 and $0.07 per gallon [4].
Also Read:
Simple Money Saving Tips for the Home That Add Up
Personal Finance Essentials
Understanding Savings Account Basics for Wealth Building
Sources
[1] Pritchett, Ginnie. “With Gas Prices Increasing, AAA Offers Tips on How to Save Money on Gas.”
[2] University of Nebraska-Lincoln Transportation Services. “Fuel Saving Tips.” 09 Dec 2012.
[3] Berger, Eric. “Lose Weight, Save Gas? Dumb. Dumb. Dumb!”
[4] U.S. Department of Energy. “Driving More Efficiently.” 09 Dec 2012.
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