by Shirley Norling

Created on: August 18, 2008   Last Updated: September 19, 2011

If someone could come up with a major solution that would save money on that precious commodity, called gas, they could possibly become an overnight millionaire. Of course that's probably not a realistic possibility, so in the meantime we just need to try and use some common sense ideas to save money on gas.

Carpooling to work, if at all possible, could save you a lot of money on gas. If four or five individuals use one vehicle, instead of four or five vehicles going back and forth to the same work destination, just think of the amount of gas we would save, and those savings would be passed on to those individuals who carpooled. It would be more money from their paycheck in their pocket, rather then the gas pump.

Combining as many errands as possible into a single trip, is another good common sense idea way to save money on gas. Pick up those prescriptions, the dry cleaning, and doing your grocery shopping on the way to or from work, school, or church. Many of our businesses today are open extended hours, if not 24 hours, so there should be some time during the day where you can incorporate your errands into your scheduled activities of the day.

Shopping on-line whenever possible, can save you trips to the mall. There are a mirage of on-line specials available on the Internet. They consist of everything from free shipping on a certain dollar amount purchase, to buy one get the second one at a discount, and of course end of the season shopping can also save you a lot money.

If you can afford it, and have the space, buy in bulk. This will make for fewer trips to the grocery store. Another thing  that a lot of grocery stores are doing, is offering you a discount on gas at a certain station, if you shop their store. There's a gas station here in my hometown that offers a discount, if you pay cash. Combing that with the discount from the grocery store, can  usually save about 10 cents per gallon on gas.

Walking instead of driving, can not only save you money on gas, it's also a great form of exercise. As the old saying goes, "you can kill two birds with one stone." You're not only contributing to your  health, you're also saving on gas and the wear and tear on your vehicle.

Another way to save on gas is to buy it midweek, instead of on the weekend, if that works for you.  Gas sometimes goes down a few cents during the work week. On the weekend, more tourists are out on the roads and thus consumption goes up, making gas more in demand, and therefore the price goes up. It's that old supply and demand theory in force.

Ride your bike instead of driving to work if you can't, or don't care to walk. Again, it's a good form of exercise.

Have your children ride the bus to school instead of driving them or letting your teen take the car. I'm sure this idea won't be very popular with your teen, especially if he has his own car, but think of the amount that's being saved on gas. You're paying taxes for that school bus to run, even if your children aren't riding it, so why not utilize those tax dollars you have to pay anyway.

Carpooling, combining errands, walking, or riding your bike, are just a few of  many ideas to save money on gas. Everything may not work for everyone, but there are many ways each and everyone of us can adopt gas saving tips into our own lifestyles.

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