10 Ways To Save Money On Gas

Gas is often looked over as an expense we can’t avoid, and while to some extent this is true, it is an expense we can reduce quite significantly. All it takes is a few small life changes, a couple new habits and making use of some of the tools around us.

If you feel you spend a lot on gas and would benefit from saving some of that money, here are ten ways to save on gas:

1. Ride your bike to work

No brainer, right? It would seem so, but the fact remains: not many people ride their bike to work. It would seem it’s not that much of a no-brainer after all. Riding your bike to work saves tons of money on gas, but it’s also great for your health and you can save even more money on a monthly gym membership by getting your daily cardio on your ride to work. Your bike will pay for itself in weeks!

2. Walk more

We all live in Canada here, so let’s not pretend like we don’t have beautiful places to walk. Get out there and breathe the fresh air when you need to run to the store. Instead of starting your car and using up expensive gas while increasing your carbon footprint, get your blood pumping, your heart beating and enjoy the natural beauty of a country people admire from afar by walking for your bread and milk!

3. Carpool

If you know of anyone else who works relatively closely to where you work, take turns driving each other to work. If you know more than just one, it’s even better. If you can find a group of five people to take turns driving with, you’re only going to have to use gas once per week. Imagine if you could lower how much you spend on gas by 80%. On top of that, carpoolers have access to faster lanes in much of the country, so there really is no downside to sharing your rides with more people.

4. Buy gas in the morning or later on in the evening

Studies show that mornings and late in the day is when gas prices are at their lowest. Avoid filling your tank in the middle of the day.

5. Drive slower

If you keep a steady pace, your fuel efficiency skyrockets - you’d be amazed how much of a difference it makes when you’re not accelerating and decelerating constantly. When you find yourself on a long stretch with very little other traffic, use your cruise control to help maintain a steady speed and increase fuel efficiency.

6. Keep your car maintained

Tire pressure, oil, filters, etc all have a significant effect on the fuel efficiency of your car. If your car isn’t kept in tip-top condition, it has to work harder to get places, increasing its usage of fuel. Just keeping your tire pressure at the recommended level can have a big impact on how much gas your car burns per kilometre. Check your oil, change your filters regularly, and do all your routine maintenance and you’ll ensure your car is running at top fuel efficiency.

7. Buy gift cards online

You can grab gift cards for gas stations from online shops like giftcardswild.com. You can grab a $100 gift card for $80 there. The only downside to this is that you have to check the site often. Sometimes there are no gas-related cards available.

8. Fill up in the middle of the week

Wednesday is said to be the absolute best day to buy gas. Trends suggest this is when gas prices are lowest.

9. Collect points

No matter where you get gas most often, make sure you have their rewards card. Stay on top of your points as some of these companies, like Petro-Canada, will give you free gas with enough points. Collect your points every time you shop there, or fill up there and make use of those points when you’ve collected enough to get free gas.

10. Download a gas app

There are loads of gas apps out there that will tell you what the cheapest place to buy gas in town is at any given moment. Simply download the app, allow it to use your location data and voila! You now know the cheapest gas in town. Gas Buddy is a robust and powerful app that will do this for you, plus point out coupons that may help you save even more. Grab it here.

Gas is a huge expense for most of us, but there are ways to lower that expense without having to buy an electric car. Practicing a mix of the tips above should bring your gas bill down significantly.

What do you do to save money on gas? Let us know in the comments!