Gas

Use These Apps to Save Money on Gas

April 25, 2018 By Tamila McDonald Leave a Comment

" width="550" height="364">Forecasts suggest that the price for a gallon of gas will be 14 percent higher this summer than the same time a year ago. Luckily, there are a number of apps to save money on gas that you may be able to download for free.

GasBuddy

A quintessential app for saving money on fuel, GasBuddy can help you find lower prices in your area. You can view lists according to your location and see gas price charts.

GasBuddy also has a trip cost calculator, helping you budget before you hit the road.

Most of the data is sent in by users, so there can be some inaccuracies. But many fans of the app are adamant about doing their part, so everything should be pretty close.

Google Maps

Practically every Android user’s phone comes with Google Maps already installed. Users of other devices can also download it for free.

Google Maps can provide you with information according to your location. If you search for fuel stations, this can be a great app to save money on gas too. You can see prices at a variety of gas stations, letting you know which ones are cheaper and close to your route.

iGasUp

If you only want to see a list of the cheapest gas stations near your current location, then the iGasUp app is worth checking out. It shows you the 10 lowest-cost options and provides you with directions.

The data comes from real-time credit card data, so it updates automatically once it notices a price change.

AAA TripTik Mobile

Along with providing information about AAA-approved hotels and restaurants, you can also find gas station information through the AAA TripTik Mobile app. If you’re already a AAA member, then this is one of the best apps for saving money on gas.

MyMPG

MyMPG provides you with local gas station information and also gives you access to tips to help you drive more efficiently. This gives you the ability to not just save at the pump, but every day. As you develop better driving habits, your fuel efficiency can go up, resulting in even more savings.

If you are planning a road trip or want to keep more of your hard-earned money, it’s smart to use these apps to save money on gas.

Do you have a favorite app that helps you save money on gas? Tell us about in the comments below.

Save Money On Gas: Avoid These 12 Gas Saving Myths

February 28, 2012 By Jeffrey Strain 6 Comments

With gas prices once again on the rise, more and more people will be looking for ways to save money on gas. In their pursuit to achieve this goal, they very well may end up hurting their pocket book. Many people assume that they are saving money on gas when they really aren’t. Here are some common gas saving myths that people still do to their detriment:

Trading in a Gas Guzzler for a Fuel Efficient Car

OK, this will save you gas, but it won’t necessarily save you any money. In fact, there is a good chance that while you are saving money on gas, you’ll lose money overall making this move. The issue is that when gas prices get high, everyone is looking to trade-in their gas guzzler for more fuel efficient transportation. The result is that those vehicles that guzzle gas get undervalued when traded in and fuel efficient cars go for a premium since there is so much demand (and there are some contrarians who actually buy SUVs during high gas prices to take advantage of this). Even though you are going to be saving money on gas, will you be saving the thousands of dollars loss it costs you to make the trade when you are only paying an extra $10 per tank? If you are driving a huge amount of miles each week, it might. For the average person, however, it probably won’t.

The best course of action is to actually run the numbers. Figure out how much of a loss you will take for trading in your gas guzzler and calculate how long it will take for the increased fuel efficiency to make it a good financial move. Now, if your gas guzzler is old and you have been thinking about getting a new car, most definitely opt for a more fuel efficient car.

Fill Up at the Cheapest Gas Station

With all the Internet sites and phone aps that track what gas is selling for, it’s now much easier to know which gas station in your area is selling gas for the least amount of money. The temptation is to drive to whatever gas station is selling gas for the least amount to get the best savings, but this can be false savings. Much like the person that drives around to different grocery stores to save a few cents, if you end up driving out of your way to save on gas, you are likely using any savings that you get from the less expensive gas for the cost of driving there.

If you drive 5 miles out of your way to save $0.10 a gallon and you place 10 gallons into the tank, you end up saving $1.00 over what you would have paid at a closer, more expensive gas station. A dollar is a dollar, but you also put an extra 10 miles (the the gas station and back) on your car. How much it actually costs to operate your car will vary from make and model, but the IRS allows anywhere from $0.14 per mile (for charity) to $0.55 per mile (business) for 2012. Even if you take the lowest rate, the cost of costs and depreciation to get you to the gas station was $0.40 more than you saved.

The lesson is that less expensive gas is not necessarily saving you money if you have to go out of your way to get it. The best course of action is to choose the least expensive gas on your regular route where you don’t have to deviate from where you were going to be going anyway.

Paying Cash for Gas Saves Money

Many gas stations offer a discount when purchasing gas when you pay cash instead of by credit card (usually around $0.10 a gallon). Then there are some gas stations where the gas prices tend to be lower like ARCO, but they don’t accept credit cards. Many people look at the lower gas prices for cash and think they are saving money by using cash, but the truth is that they are paying more than if they use a credit card that pays 5% back on gas purchases.

If gas is $4.00 a gallon and you put 10 gallons into your vehicle, you save $1.00 when paying cash rather than a credit card. The reason this isn’t any savings is that if you paid with a gas rewards credit card that pays 5% cash back, you save $2.00, or 100% more. Again, you need to do the calculations to see which is actually ends up costing you less, but most times you’ll save more by using a cash back credit card on gas than taking the cash price. With this in mind, you want to look for the least expensive gas station on your regular route that accepts credit cards.

Gas Saving Devices Work

When gas prices start to increase, people begin to look for any way to get better gas mileage. Inevitably, they hear about devices that are supposed to increase gas mileage by increasing the airflow to the engine which is supposed to improve the car’s fuel efficiency. Consumer Reports has tested a number of these devices to see if their claims are true, and not only did they not save gas, but they actually increased gas consumption along with wear on the engine.

If any of these devices really did work, independent organizations would have long ago come out and given them their blessing. None have. Spending $50 or more on these devices will take money out of your pocket while not helpiong your car’s fuel efficiency at all.

Gas Saving Additives Work

Much like the gas saving devices, there are a lot of gasoline additives that claim that they can increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles by as much as 25% and getting people to pay a lot to use them. The problem is that there is no verifiable studies that indicate that any of these work. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission has tested over 100 products that claim that they save gas and none has significantly improved gas mileage. As Consumer Reports notes, if any gas saving additive did increase gas mileage, there would be a huge rush by oil companies to market their new gas blend to gain a bigger share of the gasoline market.

Over Inflate Tire Pressure To Save Gas

The concept would seem sound. By over-inflating tires, the tires will have less friction against the road, which in turn means the engine doesn’t need to work as hard to keep the car’s wheels spinning. This should make over-inflated tires save a bit of money on gas compared to properly inflated tires.

Edmunds.com tested this and found that there was no noticeable difference in gas consumption of cars with over-inflated tires and properly inflated tires. Even if there is a slight improvement in gas mileage with over-inflated tires, this would end up costing you more in the long run. The problem with over-inflated tires is that they wear out more quickly and often times irregularly causing them to have to be replaced more often. Any savings in gas would be wiped out with the increased cost of replacing tires. Add to that the fact that over inflating tires increases the risk of accidents due to a decrease in stopping ability and poorer handling and this gas saving technique has the potential to be quite costly to your wallet in the long run.

Turning on the AC Wastes Gas

This is the classic “AC on with windows down vs. AC off with windows up” argument. While one might be slightly more fuel efficient than the other depending on the speed of the car and its aerodynamics with the windows down, most car sources and independent rating sites call this debate a tie.

This is one of those tips that may have been true years ago when using the AC put a lot of stress on the engine, but this is no longer the case with modern cars. While running the AC does pull some power from the engine (so not running the AC with the windows rolled up will get you a bit better gas mileage than having the AC on with windows rolled up), rolling down the windows increases aerodynamic drag which also decreases fuel efficiency so they basically cancel each other out.

Regular Tune-Ups Will Save Gas

This would seem to make sense on the surface. If a car isn’t properly tuned, then it seems pretty obvious that there would be a good chance that it was wasting gas. In the past with older cars, this was true and that is where this gas saving tip originates. The reason that this tip is no longer applicable is that most cars no longer need regular tune-ups due to advances in technology. Newer cars have computers which take care of all the engine adjustments needed to keep the car running well. The only ones that require you to take your car in is if the “check engine” light comes on or if it’s due for regularly scheduled maintenance as indicated in the car’s owner’s manual. Doing any regular tune-ups beyond these would be a waste of money and not increase your gas mileage.

Premium Gas Equals Better Mileage

This better mileage tip has it’s basis in reality, but simply doesn’t apply to the vast majority of people. If you purchase a car with a high performance engine that requires higher octane fuel, then you want to place premium gas into that car and it should make that car run better (and thus get better mileage) than if regular unleaded gas was put into the tank. The issue is that most car engines on the road don’t require anything beyond regular unleaded gas to perform at their best, meaning that putting in the higher grade gas won’t make them perform any better.

Fill Up in Cold Weather to Get More Gas at the Pump

This is a gas myth that has it’s origin in science. When gas is cool it’s denser than when it’s warm. Denser gas would give you more miles per gallon than gas that was less dense. Therefore the assumption goes that if you fill your car up with gas during the cooler periods of the day, you will be pumping gas that is denser in volume than if you pump the gas at warmer periods of the day giving you a better value for your money.

The problem with this is that gas is stored in underground tanks which are deep enough that the air temperature of the day doesn’t effect it. So even if you pump your gas in the heat of the day, the temperature of the underground tank remains the same meaning that you get the same amount of gas density no matter what time of the day you pump. In addition, most gas pumps today are engineered to equalize any temperature differences (because the underground tank’s temperature can vary during seasons) to ensure that density remains consistent.

A Clean Air-Filter Will Save Gas

This is another gas saving myth that gets it’s origin from older model cars where it was true, but new technology has made it obsolete and no longer the case. It was true when cars had carburetors, keeping the air-filter extra clean could help the car to get better gas mileage. Today, the car’s computer system regulates the amount of gas that is injecting into the engine so that the air-filter being a little dirty isn’t going to make a difference in gas mileage. This is especially true since today’s air-filters have also greatly improved to allow better airflow even when they begin to get dirty.

Now, if the air-filter is completely filthy, that’s another story. If the air-filter ever does get dirty enough to effect engine performance, the “check engine” light would likely go on, so constantly replacing air filters at the first sign of any dirt will end up costing you money for the filter without giving you any benefit of better gas mileage.

Leave the Engine Idling During Quick Stops

This gas saving myth comes about with the assumption that it takes more gas to start a car than letting it idle for a short time, so if you are running into a store for just a few seconds, it saves more gas to leave the car running than it would to turn it off and on again. The easiest way to dispel this myth is the hybrid car. The entire concept of the hybrid car is to save gas by shutting off the engine when it isn’t moving or moving slowly, and that is how it gets such great gas mileage. By not wasting any gas when you are stopped (if the engine is running and the car isn’t moving, you are getting 0 miles per gallon), the hybrid cars are able to get overall better mileage than standard engine cars. There is no extra gas used when turning off and on a car engine that is already warmed (there is a bit for engines that are cold), so if you want to save the most gas possible, don’t leave the engine idling anytime you are parked even if it’s only for a short period.

Everyone wants to save gas, especially when gas prices rocket to their current levels. That doesn’t mean that you should go out and try every tip you hear in order to try and get better gas mileage because, as the above list shows, there are a lot of times when you think you might be saving money when you actually aren’t. Always do a bit of research to make sure the gas saving tips are accurate and will actually help you accomplish the goal of saving money.

(Photo courtesy of °Florian)

The Auto Numbers Game

August 3, 2008 By Guest Writer 3 Comments

By Joseph Ganem

Just about every financial decision we make involves comparing numbers. But, often the numbers shown are not the ones you should compare. The sellers of automobiles and related products are masters at leading people down the wrong financial road with misleading numbers. Whether buying a car or a tank of gas, it is easy to be distracted by the numbers in large lettering on the signs. But always think about the difference between the total amount of money in your pocket before and after the transaction. That sounds obvious, but consider these common examples where numbers send the consumer off in the wrong direction.

Buying a car

Dealers have found 0% financing offers to be one of their best marketing tools. The idea is to distract buyers from looking at used cars by making it appear that they will save money financing a new car. But if you look at the fine print, almost all 0% financing offers are in lieu of a rebate.

Consider a new car advertised for $26,000 with 0% financing for 60 months or a $5000 rebate. What that means is that the car costs $21,000 because if you have the cash you will drive away with $21,000 less in your bank account. If you don’t have the cash the so-called “rebate” is actually a $5000 pre-paid finance charge. Whether that’s a good deal depends on the alternative sources of financing available.

For example if your bank will finance the $21,000 for 5 years at an 8% annual percentage rate your monthly payments will be $425.80, which is $7.53 less than the $433.33 monthly payment that results from the 0% finance offer.

You should still be wary of the 0% finance offer even if the monthly payments that result are about the same or slightly more than payments on a loan from the bank. That is because no matter what happens in the future you will be responsible for the $26,000 owed to the dealer. But if a bank loan is paid off early because you totaled the car or trA 0% finance agreement is the kind of deal I call a “two-headed quarter” for the dealer because it insures that the finance charge will be paid to them no matter what events happen in the future. As a general rule it is better to shop for the lowest cash price for a vehicle and then compare different financing offers.

Auto manufacturers have created other complicated offers in place of rebates to distract buyers. With the high cost of gas making the news some manufacturers are offering discounts on gas for the first three years of ownership. But before you agree to exchange your rebate for gas you will need to do an extensive mathematical analysis of your driving habits, gas buying, and most importantly all the complicated rules and restrictions attached to the offer. It’s a good bet that the cash from the rebate is the simpler and more profitable option.

Buying gas

With gas prices hovering around $4 per gallon, it is now common to spend more per month filling your tank than making your car payment. It certainly pays to search out the station offering the best price on gas. But like buying a car, if you focus only on the numbers shown on the signs you might pay more. Before you set off on a trip to the station with the lowest price, think about the total cost.

Let’s do the math. If you drive 5 miles out of the way to purchase gas in a car that gets 20 miles per gallon, that 10-mile round trip will burn 0.5 gallons. If you drive that distance to pay $3.95 per gallon to fill a 15-gallon tank, instead of paying $4.00 at your local station, you only save 75 cents. But your trip to save $0.75 will cost nearly $2. Instead of saving a nickel per gallon you will actually spend about 8 cents more per gallon.

If that computation took you back to those impossible word problems in high school math, you can easily find out if your trips to purchase low-priced gas are burning more money than you save with this calculator that will compute your net savings on gas after accounting for the cost of the trip.

Extended Warranties

Most auto dealers will push an extended warranty or service contract when you purchase a vehicle. I find it amusing to be sold on how great a product is, only to be told horror stories on all the problems that can occur once I make a decision to buy. But, the reason for pushing service contracts is that the money spent on them is pure profit for the dealer. Extended warranties on cars typically have deductibles and exclude many parts — usually the parts most likely to fail. If you do have a problem you will have to make a claim and negotiate a payment that may not cover the entire cost of the repair.

The deception of extended warranties is that you will always find someone who needed expensive repairs on a vehicle shortly after the manufacturer warranty expired. But those cases are the exceptions. If you make it a rule to always decline extended warranties, you will save more than enough money in the long run to pay for the repairs that you actually need. Warranties do not cover routine or regularly scheduled maintenance. If you invest in upkeep rather than an extended warranty, the chance of an expensive unexpected part failure will be reduced.

Whether buying a car, filling its tank, or having it serviced, shop for the best cash price. Avoid complicated gimmicks and contracts laden with rules and exclusions. Despite what the salesperson says, if you do the math you will usually find that cash is your best bet.

Image courtesy of Ben McLeod

Joseph Ganem, a professor of physics at Loyola College in Maryland, is author of the award-winning book: The Two Headed Quarter: How to See Through Deceptive Numbers and Save Money on Everything You Buy. His Website is TheTwoHeadedQuarter.com.

How Have Gas Prices Changed Your Routine?

July 14, 2008 By Jeffrey Strain 10 Comments

Today’s morning question is, How have gas prices changed your routine?

I have to admit that increasing gas have done very little to change my routine. Part of the reason is that living in Japan, gas prices have been over $4 a gallon for years (and now they are heading toward $8 a gallon), so I had incentive to cut back long ago. Since almost all highway roads in Japan are toll roads, we almost always opt for train travel when making longer trips within Japan. The fact that I really don’t enjoy driving (my wife is the one who loves to drive) and a great public transportation system means that there is really no reason for me to drive except on special occasions.

My wife, on the other hand, has not been happy with the increasing gas prices at all. She has opted for public transportation a lot more recently when meeting friends where she would have driven our car in the past, but I’m not aware of any changes she has made in her driving habits or to the car to increase fuel efficiency that she hadn’t already been doing.

The place that higher fuel prices has made a big difference is in our travel plans. We have opted on several occasions to stay in Japan rather than fly overseas on vacation due to the cost of air travel these days. While airline tickets have remained relatively the same price, they are allowed to add fuel surcharges to tickets which can increase them by several hundred dollars. It makes more financial sense for us to take a train to an area of Japan that we haven’t seen before that to fly overseas these days.

Please share your own experiences on this topic as a wide variety of views and thoughts are helpful to everyone. If there is one thing that I have learned about personal finances from all of you is that there are always exceptions to the rule and differing circumstances can mean completely different solutions. If you have a blog and you have written about this topic in the past, feel free to link to your writing (although a short summary would be helpful). If you have recently read a good article on this topic, please links and share in the comments.

Image courtesy of amanky

Should Rising Gas Prices Make You Buy a New Car?

April 28, 2008 By Jennifer Derrick 11 Comments

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that gas prices are soaring sky high. As a result, many people are rushing out to trade in their older, larger, inefficient cars for newer smaller, more efficient models. But is this rush to trade really necessary, or even a good thing?

Certainly if you’re driving a Hummer (or other large or extra large SUV/truck) that gets, at best, 13 MPG on the highway, you would be better served financially by switching to something smaller and more efficient. It’s not difficult to find a car that can double that MPG. However, what if you own a smaller SUV or a mini-van? Can you really do a lot better financially by switching?

Looking at many of the major mini-vans and mid-size SUV’s on the road today, the average highway MPG is around 25 MPG. The average MPG for many of the major mid-size cars is around 30 MPG. As with anything, some are better and some are worse, but these are the averages. So if you’re driving a mid-size van or SUV and switch to a mid-sized car, you’ll save some fuel, but only an average of 5 MPG. Even switching to a much smaller, compact or economy car will only get you an average of 32 MPG on the highway, not much different than the mid-sized car. To reap significant savings you’d need to move to a hybrid of some sort, where the highway MPG can jump as high as 45 MPG.

The problem in the U.S. is that we have some of the worst fuel economy standards of any major nation. We simply don’t require that our cars and trucks get the gas mileage that they could. If we adopted the same standards as some European nations, our cars could easily be getting 40 MPG on average, with many pushing fifty miles per gallon. But because we won’t adopt such standards, we’re stuck with lower MPG’s that make switching to smaller cars almost no better than driving larger cars.

Other factors may eat into any potential savings, as well. How much you can sell your current vehicle for will have a big impact on your savings. If you can’t sell your current car for more than or as much as you owe, you’ll have to foot the bill for the difference on your old loan in addition to paying for the newer car. With the market for SUV’s, vans and trucks shrinking, it can be difficult to get the price you need for your current car. This can lead to larger monthly payments (paying for a newer car, as well as paying off the loan on the old car) that eat into any money you might save at the pump.

If you own your car outright, what you can sell it for is less of a factor, although the amount you can get may dictate what you can afford in terms of a newer car. If you don’t have a lot of cash lying around, a low resale on your current car could mean that you have less to spend on a new car, or that you now have a car payment where before you had none. If you’re not currently making payments, make certain to take any new payment into account when calculating potential savings at the gas pump. You may be trading one savings for another expense.

Also remember that any newer vehicle is likely to cost you more in taxes and insurance. Newer vehicles are almost always more expensive to insure because the cost to replace them is greater. And, because they are newer and worth more, the taxes are going to be higher. How much higher, of course, depends on what you get and what you’ve been driving, but do your research to make certain that your fuel savings won’t be eaten up by higher insurance and tax payments.

In most cases, switching just to save a few bucks on gasoline isn’t worth it. Unless you are moving down from a giant SUV, the move from van to car or mid-sized SUV to car won’t save you that much. It may end up costing you more once you factor in new payments, insurance, and taxes. Obviously, if you need a new car because your old one has given up or has become too expensive to maintain you want to shop for the best MPG you can get so that, moving forward, you can save as much as possible. But if you’re simply looking to trade a perfectly good car to save on gas, you might be better off holding on to your old car for a while longer until you really need a newer vehicle.

In the meantime, look for other ways to save on fuel. Some tried and true ideas:

Slowing down is a great fuel saver. Most cars get their best MPG around 60 MPH on the highway. As you go above that, your fuel economy drops rapidly.
Make certain your car is well maintained. Proper air pressure in the tires, clean oil and filters, and proper fluid levels all contribute to help a car get its best MPG.
Don’t carry everything you own in the car because the extra load is a drag on your fuel economy. Similarly, try to avoid using a “snail” or other cargo carrier on your roof as it creates more drag which lowers fuel economy.
Combine your errands and do as much as possible in one trip to save on repeat trips.
Plan your route to do the least amount of backtracking.
Try to avoid sitting in rush hour traffic. Leave for work and home earlier or later to avoid the worst traffic. Similarly, if you don’t work outside the home, time your errands to avoid rush hours.
Don’t go out for lunch every day. Not only does it cost more for the food, but also in the travel cost of getting to the restaurant. Bring your lunch and eat in.
If you can find someone to share a ride with, even if only once per week, do it. Carpooling is a big fuel saver for both parties.
Don’t idle at the drive thru. Turn off the engine while you wait for your food or money. Better yet, go inside and conduct your business.

I want to make one more point about switching cars just to save fuel. Yes, saving fuel is good for the environment. I don’t dispute that. But it’s better for the environment to keep a well-maintained, functioning car on the road for longer, rather than buying new cars frequently. New cars require tremendous amounts of resources and energy to build. The longer you can keep your older car on the road and functioning well, the fewer resources that are gobbled up to make new cars. Additionally, fewer cars end up in landfills and junk yards. If everyone kept their cars for extended periods of time, we would save more resources and energy than if everyone switched to smaller cars.

When you have no other option, when your old car has truly taken its last breath, switching to a fuel efficient car is the way to go. I highly recommend that, when the time comes, you go for the best fuel economy you can get. But until the time comes when a newer car is needed (not wanted), I recommend keeping your old car for as long as possible and keeping it well maintained. That’s the best way to go, both for your wallet and for the environment.

Image courtesy of Cayusa

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