How to Avoid Those Gas-Wasting Behaviors

credit: Lawrence L. Gilbert

These days it’s getting to be that every cent you can save on gas is a blessing. But one way to help your wallet feel a little better in the midst of skyrocketing gas prices is to adopt a few more fuel-efficient driving habits, like these:

• Drive so you don’t need to accelerate or decelerate excessively. That means that when you start off (especially from traffic lights), don’t race - accelerate gently.  Conversely, if you’re approaching a red light, take your foot off the accelerator earlier and let your car coast to a stop - there’s no need to use gas to gain speed that you can’t use.
• Turn the car off if you’re waiting to pick someone up or your passenger’s running an erand. The idea that it takes more gas to turn the car on again is a myth for modern cars.
• Try to avoid lots of short trips. Cars run more efficiently when the engine is warmed up, so if you do need to do a lot of running around between shops or offices, try to combine the trips together, so that the engine stays warm.
• Don’t speed! Apart from the fact that speeding isn’t a great idea anyway, it’s also more fuel-efficient to drive at the speed limit or below. Drive too fast and you simply use up a lot more gas, and that means using up a lot more dollars.

Tags: Gas | Life Hacks | personal finance | Saving Money