Proven Tips to Reduce Petrol Costs
As the cost for petrol continues to fluctuate (up mostly), people are more open at looking for ways to reduce these increasing costs. The good news is that there are many different everyday things you can do to reduce your petrol costs and save money.
Below is a list of more than a dozen proven tips that will reduce your petrol costs. When using a combination of these tips, you can save a significant amount of money during the course of a year.
- When pumping gas at the bowser keep the hose in the tank until the pump stops to capture the remaining petrol in the hose. Think about the amount of petrol you currently lose to the side of the car and concrete when pulling the hose out of the car. This wasted fuel ads up – giving a little shake before you pull out the hose also helps eliminate wastage.
- This one might sound funny but it’s true. When you’re lost pull over and find the correct route to where you want to go. Don’t continuously drive around guessing on where you need to go, you’re eating up petrol.
- Try to avoid driving at excessive speeds. You can reduce your petrol costs by more than 10 per cent by keeping your speed at 100 km/hr instead of the higher rate of 110 km/hr. Try to also drive your vehicle conservatively, quick acceleration eats up fuel.
- Try buying petrol during the lowest price cycle of the week; this is generally between Tuesday and Thursday depending on area. Also, try not to wait until your fuel tank is empty before refilling – this leaves you at the mercy of what the current petrol price is. Filling up a full tank of gas at the cycle peak really hurts the back pocket!
- Use the best fuel…whilst it might be a bit more expensive, it balances out as your car will get better gas mileage. There have been multiple test done that have proven this – check out Myth Busters.
- Be sure to have your car serviced every six months, or at the very least once per year. Regularly check the level of your car’s fluids, such as oil and coolant. A well-maintained car will use less petrol to operate.
- Only use the air conditioning when absolutely necessary. Keep in mind that turning on your air conditioning can use between five and ten per cent more petrol than driving without it on. When possible keep your windows down to allow a breeze to keep you cool instead of air conditioning.
- Regularly check the air pressure in your tyres. You will use a lot more petrol if your tyres are underinflated.
- If you are stopping for an extended period of time, be sure to turn off your car. Remember that as long as your car is running it is using petrol, you do not have to be moving.
- When possible choose to walk or take public transportation to your destination. This option will depend greatly on where you live in Australia, but can good option for reducing you overall petrol costs.
- Shop at a grocery store that offers discount vouchers for money off your petrol bill. This will help keep your costs down every time you fill you tank.
- Extra weight in your car can also increase your petrol costs. Clean out your car and take out anything you do not need to store in there, such as your golf clubs, or other sports equipment.
- Wind resistance will also increase the amount of petrol it takes to travel from one place to the other. Remove any unnecessary accessories to your car, such as roof racks and bike racks.
- Use your cruise control settings if you are driving on the highway. This will help to maintain your speed and reduce the number of times you slow down and accelerate.
Together these tips can lower your petrol cost and your dependency on fuel. The best part is that most of these tips will also help you protect the environment be minimising the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted into the air. Once you start using one or two of these tips, you will see a reduction in the amount of petrol you use over the course of a month.
What tips do you use to save on petrol costs?
Image courtesy of Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
