Author Topic: How to REALLY save on gas  (Read 5728 times)

The Guru

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How to REALLY save on gas
« on: May 04, 2018, 06:24:45 PM »
A recent online article has given advice on how to "certainly save...hundreds of dollars a year" on gas.

Well, sure, you say: drive the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Use alternate transportation as much as practical. Live as close to where you work, shop, etc. as possible.

Pssh. That's crazy talk. If you REALLY want to save on gas... shop around.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/finance-savemoney/gas-prices-are-going-up-%e2%80%94-heres-how-to-save-at-the-pump/ar-AAwA11O?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=LENDHP

In my case, at 9K mile / year, at 25 mpg minimum, saving $.06 / gallon (the greatest savings I could find in my area) I could save....about $20. Annually. I can't imagine how much you'd need to piss away ordinarily to save  "hundreds" annually.

YMMV indeed.


JAYSLOL

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #1 on: May 04, 2018, 07:11:40 PM »
A recent online article has given advice on how to "certainly save...hundreds of dollars a year" on gas.

Well, sure, you say: drive the most fuel-efficient vehicle that meets your needs. Use alternate transportation as much as practical. Live as close to where you work, shop, etc. as possible.

Pssh. That's crazy talk. If you REALLY want to save on gas... shop around.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/finance-savemoney/gas-prices-are-going-up-%e2%80%94-heres-how-to-save-at-the-pump/ar-AAwA11O?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=LENDHP

In my case, at 9K mile / year, at 25 mpg minimum, saving $.06 / gallon (the greatest savings I could find in my area) I could save....about $20. Annually. I can't imagine how much you'd need to piss away ordinarily to save  "hundreds" annually.

YMMV indeed.

Yeah, even with my not-entirely-mustachain car and the 15k Kilometers we do a year and the fact that gas is easily double in Canada compared to the US by only buying at the cheapest station I would only save about $100.  Canadian.  Annually.  Before factoring additional kms for getting a discount.  And that's assuming before I was always buying at the most expensive station, which i wasn't anyway.  I save hundreds annually by riding my bike even a few times a month. 

Just Joe

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #2 on: May 05, 2018, 08:23:57 PM »
I keep seeing that gasoline is going up! How much - maybe 20 cents a gallon? Are we looking at a $1 a gallon increase like we saw ten years ago?

DW and I carpool, live in smaller town, etc etc. I don't even worry about the price of fuel anymore because we just don't buy that much and it is a cost we have to absorb whatever it is. Not like I'll drive all over town looking for gas 5 cents cheaper.
« Last Edit: May 07, 2018, 11:35:05 AM by Just Joe »

maizefolk

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #3 on: May 05, 2018, 08:36:47 PM »
I had to drive across the country from NY to CA in the summer on 2008 when gas prices averaged ~$4.70/gallon. Call it $5.30 in today's dollars.

I'd honestly be okay with prices climbing back to those levels. I have much more flexibility to reduce my gas consumption now than I did at the time.

(But I realize others may be in more tenuous positions and wouldn't be able to shrug off the rise in prices as I can.)

secondcor521

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #4 on: May 06, 2018, 11:24:18 AM »
And in the US, sales of large trucks and SUVs seem to be on the rise; sales of smaller cars are struggling.

Around here, the trucks and SUVs were popular on the road until gas hit about $3.75 to $4.00, then people seemed to change their behavior.

I'm curious to see what happens.

pecunia

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #5 on: May 06, 2018, 12:24:46 PM »
I'm thinking hybrid.  My brother bought one last year.  If you get one that you can charge yourself it seems like you could burn no gas.

I also heard they may stop making the volt.  Who killed the electric car?


CindyBS

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2018, 03:39:31 PM »
Gas prices is one of those things that I care about the price because it affects the economy and the price of other things, not so much because it affects me that much. 

I go to the most convenient gas station to my house and spend maybe $30 every 6 weeks or so.  I can't really devote energy to saving money on gas with the other crisis in my life.  I think we'd have much more impact on expenditures by lowering our food budget or skipping going out to eat once per month.

jinga nation

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2018, 08:48:39 PM »
I'm thinking hybrid.  My brother bought one last year.  If you get one that you can charge yourself it seems like you could burn no gas.

I also heard they may stop making the volt.  Who killed the electric car?

Meanwhile VW is shifting from diesel to electric. BMW is getting more into the electric game after the i3 and i8 models. I think Toyota said in the next few years, every model in their lineup will have a hybrid/electric version.

I have ex-coworkers who moved to work for industrial/automotive battery manufacturers for upcoming vehicles.

Neighbor drives for UPS, said there's rumors that electric delivery vans will be part of the fleet. You know the local bread vans.

adamb

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2018, 10:37:45 AM »
best way to save hundreds of dollars in gas? ride a bike! I was actually on the bus the other day and passed the gas station, I saw prices were almost at $3 a gallon again and had to laugh. I've been biking or busing everywhere for the past 8 months and I never even noticed that gas prices had gone back up!

alanB

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #9 on: May 07, 2018, 10:42:51 AM »
My favorite suggestion:
Quote
Finally, don't waste money pumping premium when your vehicle doesn't need it.

Back when gas was cheap in NJ a coworker told me "sure it is cheaper, but since they pump it for you by the time you give a $5 tip it is the same."  That person needs a more general article "How to stop giving your money away to everyone you see."

Average miles per year = 12,000
Average MPG ~ 25
Average $/gal = 2.80

12,000MPY / 25MPG = 480 gal/yr
480 gal/yr * $2.80/gal = $1,344/yr

"Hundreds of dollar a year" implies >$200...
$200 / $1,344 = 14.9%

If you combine loyalty cards, regional difference in gas taxes, CC rewards, and not going to the most expensive possible place you might be able to get close to 15%. If you are willing to take a risk you could stockpile a fuel tank when prices seem low.  That is like a double risk though since you might blow up your house.  If you really want to up the risk level you can squeeze out another 5 mpg by drafting off a big truck ;) 

Just Joe

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #10 on: May 07, 2018, 11:38:32 AM »
How to REALLY save on gas: step away from the car and go do something else.

Njdealguy

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #11 on: May 07, 2018, 04:10:09 PM »
I get most of my gas practically free (that too premium unleaded) in the NJ/PA area by following a few steps.  Stop and shop/giant grocery store often gives deals where by buying Visa or MasterCard gift cards they will give certain amount of Shell gas points good for a discount on gas where a certain amount can be redeemed to make the fillup free.  The gift cards for $500 denomination cost approx 5.95 each and I offset it by using a credit card giving 2% cash back on all purchases (Which is $10 on a $500 gift card).  Then I convert the gift cards to money orders or other cash equivalent and repay the credit card used, and recycle the process.   Can readup on the FT manufactured spending forum for more details on how all this works.

robartsd

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #12 on: May 07, 2018, 04:21:29 PM »
Neighbor drives for UPS, said there's rumors that electric delivery vans will be part of the fleet. You know the local bread vans.
They're already part of the fleet - perhaps not part of the US fleet, but I saw one in the UK last week.

aasdfadsf

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #13 on: May 07, 2018, 08:44:11 PM »
Quote
Drivers are prone to overpay by at least 20 cents per gallon "due to factors such as laziness and procrastination," according to a report from GasBuddy...

GasBuddy's research found that shopping for the lowest price, especially in major metro areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., can result in savings of $60 of more per month.

At 20 cents per gallon, saving $60 per month requires you to burn through roughly 10 gallons per day. That's a serious commute.


secondcor521

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #14 on: May 07, 2018, 08:59:20 PM »
Quote
Drivers are prone to overpay by at least 20 cents per gallon "due to factors such as laziness and procrastination," according to a report from GasBuddy...

GasBuddy's research found that shopping for the lowest price, especially in major metro areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., can result in savings of $60 of more per month.

At 20 cents per gallon, saving $60 per month requires you to burn through roughly 10 gallons per day. That's a serious commute.

Not in a Hummer.

maizefolk

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #15 on: May 07, 2018, 09:20:32 PM »
Quote
Drivers are prone to overpay by at least 20 cents per gallon "due to factors such as laziness and procrastination," according to a report from GasBuddy...

GasBuddy's research found that shopping for the lowest price, especially in major metro areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., can result in savings of $60 of more per month.

At 20 cents per gallon, saving $60 per month requires you to burn through roughly 10 gallons per day. That's a serious commute.

Not in a Hummer.

The H1 & H2 hummers got ~10 miles to the gallon, so that'd still be 50 miles each way. Not a commute I'd care for.

Syonyk

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #16 on: May 07, 2018, 10:22:57 PM »
And in the US, sales of large trucks and SUVs seem to be on the rise; sales of smaller cars are struggling.

To be fair to the trucks, the new F150s manage low-20s in terms of fuel economy, which isn't that much worse than a car (in terms of gallons per distance - it's a rather diminishing set of returns).  Our Mazda 3 averages around 32mpg in a rural area, so a truck doing 22-ish mpg isn't even burning 50% more fuel, and it's an awful lot more useful for many things.

My truck gets about 12mpg, but I don't use it for that much beyond "being a truck."  It currently has plywood in the bed because I've been loading it up with a ton or so of basalt at a time to move it out of the firebreaks I cut with our 75 year old tractor...

Car Jack

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #17 on: May 09, 2018, 09:16:52 AM »
I combine my churning, manufactured spending, gift card shenanigans and grocery store gas points with a national chain linked gas discount program along with a linked credit card.  Oh, and the low balance forgiveness credit cards that help with those serial $1 gas purchases.  It's fun and involved but really doesn't take a lot of time or effort, just have to be awake.  The results?  Yesterday, I bought 20 gallons of gas.  The total price?  38 cents.  No, not 38 cents a gallon, 1.9 cents a gallon for a total of 38 cents.  I've left out some steps as I don't want them publicly known but needless to say, when you're paying 1.9 cents a gallon, driving a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that gets 19 mpg doesn't hurt so much. 


Syonyk

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #18 on: May 09, 2018, 09:53:38 AM »
"Low balance forgiveness credit cards"?  That's a thing?

Njdealguy

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #19 on: May 09, 2018, 10:07:16 AM »
I combine my churning, manufactured spending, gift card shenanigans and grocery store gas points with a national chain linked gas discount program along with a linked credit card.  Oh, and the low balance forgiveness credit cards that help with those serial $1 gas purchases.  It's fun and involved but really doesn't take a lot of time or effort, just have to be awake.  The results?  Yesterday, I bought 20 gallons of gas.  The total price?  38 cents.  No, not 38 cents a gallon, 1.9 cents a gallon for a total of 38 cents.  I've left out some steps as I don't want them publicly known but needless to say, when you're paying 1.9 cents a gallon, driving a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that gets 19 mpg doesn't hurt so much.

Think I may have mentioned a similar process on post #11 but have a sense that some on this website will still facepunch anyway even if gas is free or nearly free for still not using a bicycle instead!

robartsd

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #20 on: May 10, 2018, 08:18:09 AM »
"Low balance forgiveness credit cards"?  That's a thing?
Yes, many cards will forgive a very low balance - just not worth the cost to process the payment. The threshold is usually $1-2. There was some mention of it in the tradeline sales thread - in that case they wanted to make sure the balance was not low enough to be forgiven because they needed the balance and authorized users to post to credit reporting agencies.


gaja

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #22 on: May 11, 2018, 06:40:18 AM »
I'm thinking hybrid.  My brother bought one last year.  If you get one that you can charge yourself it seems like you could burn no gas.

I also heard they may stop making the volt.  Who killed the electric car?
There is something crazy going on with that brand. We had people lining up months before the release, to get a Opel Ampera (European brand name, otherwise same car). Last autumn they stopped selling it in Norway, because they had too many on the waiting list. Now, if you were lucky enough to get on the list before the cutoff, you can sell your new car for more than you paid for it. We considered buying one, but it was cheaper getting a second hand Tesla.

meghan88

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #23 on: May 11, 2018, 03:30:30 PM »
Shamefully, our household has a car, even though we lived very well in another city for many years without one, because public transportation and biking infrastructure was so good.  Then we moved.  I could personally still live without one here in car-crazy SW Ontario, but DH (who made the move here rather unwillingly) insisted we get one.

Last year we spent $161 on gas - actually $211 if you count the $50 in Air Miles we redeemed.  I don't consider that to be badass because we pay $800/year for insurance and whatever the costs are for twice-yearly summer/winter tire change and maintenance.  Plus registration.  YUCK.  What a waste.  Can't wait to get rid of it.

pecunia

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #24 on: May 11, 2018, 06:00:36 PM »
Quote
There is something crazy going on with that brand. We had people lining up months before the release, to get a Opel Ampera (European brand name, otherwise same car). Last autumn they stopped selling it in Norway, because they had too many on the waiting list.

I live in the US and I sometimes think that US car manufacturers simply do not want frugal customers.  The Volt is not a cheap car so I believe they made profit on it.  It is odd as this is the way the world will go.

Quote
Think I may have mentioned a similar process on post #11 but have a sense that some on this website will still facepunch anyway even if gas is free or nearly free for still not using a bicycle instead!

Would I still be face-punched if I got an electric boost bike?  I tried one last week and was extremely impressed.  They are still a device of frugality, will have little environmental damage and as you still pedal will receive health benefits.  On your bad days, you just cruise a bit more.  No gasoline or diesel burned unless the utility used it.


robartsd

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #25 on: May 14, 2018, 08:15:34 AM »
Quote
Think I may have mentioned a similar process on post #11 but have a sense that some on this website will still facepunch anyway even if gas is free or nearly free for still not using a bicycle instead!

Would I still be face-punched if I got an electric boost bike?  I tried one last week and was extremely impressed.  They are still a device of frugality, will have little environmental damage and as you still pedal will receive health benefits.  On your bad days, you just cruise a bit more.  No gasoline or diesel burned unless the utility used it.
Generally using an electric bike for transportation won't get a face-punch. If it means you drive a car less, it is a good thing.

ChpBstrd

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #26 on: May 14, 2018, 08:59:16 AM »
Notice how the general mentality is that "saving" is just another way of "consuming"? There are people driving V6 and V8 trucks and SUVs just for the vanity of doing so, who think "saving" means shaving twenty cents off the cost of the $100 fill-up they do twice a week.

This is their understanding of "saving".

Is it any wonder they think becoming a millionaire through saving is impossible?

Just Joe

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Re: How to REALLY save on gas
« Reply #27 on: May 16, 2018, 09:20:59 AM »
Quote
Think I may have mentioned a similar process on post #11 but have a sense that some on this website will still facepunch anyway even if gas is free or nearly free for still not using a bicycle instead!

Would I still be face-punched if I got an electric boost bike?  I tried one last week and was extremely impressed.  They are still a device of frugality, will have little environmental damage and as you still pedal will receive health benefits.  On your bad days, you just cruise a bit more.  No gasoline or diesel burned unless the utility used it.
Generally using an electric bike for transportation won't get a face-punch. If it means you drive a car less, it is a good thing.

And a recharge costs maybe a nickel.