by Mark Schwartz

Created on: June 17, 2009   Last Updated: June 20, 2009

As the price of gas fluctuates up and down (something none of us has much control over), and the financial situation in our national and local economies is still turbulent, it becomes more and more important to take little steps to save money. While these little steps may not seem like much, they do add up if you do enough of them over a long enough period. Several tips for decreasing your gas usage are easy for anyone to implement.

Plan your trips

This seems like common sense, but it really does help. The easiest way to use less gas is to drive less. Try to get at least two things done each time you drive somewhere, and plan out your route so that you are hitting places you need to go while you are on your way to other places you need to go. Just a few moments of sketching out your route, or putting your to-do list in geographic order will really help.

Keep your tires inflated

This is something that most oil change places will do for you, but even between oil changes, it's important to keep an eye on. It's usually free (or at most $0.50) to get air at a local gas station, and most pumps have a gauge on them to help you check your tire pressure. The recommended tire pressure is usually stamped on the tires themselves, and it varies by the type and size of tire. If you can't or don't want to read the tire, you can just do an eyeball test. If the sides of the tire come out a bit at the bottom, chances are your tires are under-inflated. Checking tire pressure not only improves the gas mileage, but it also helps your tires last longer. It is even more important if your tires are older, or close to their recommended mileage limit.

Keep extra weight out of your car

Although this is a small difference, it's also about the easiest thing to do. If you have extra items (especially in the trunk) that you don't need when you drive, take them out. Of course, make sure you aren't taking out any safety equipment, or anything like that. The tire jack may seem heavy, but it should stay. If you have kids, be sure to check all the little compartments in your car. Some large vehicles have lots of places to store stuff, and you may be surprised at how much stuff is stored in your car without you even knowing it.

Drive with a little more patience

This is especially difficult for most people, due to the rush drivers feel when accelerating quickly and the pace of life nowadays that nudges us to drive faster. The actual speed you drive at is important, especially for highway driving. For city driving, however, the rate at which you accelerate from a stop is very important. Especially for heavy vehicles, the energy required to take a car from a complete stop to 40 mph, or so, is significant. Additionally, the engine works very hard when it's accelerating quickly. This momentum is then lost when you hit the brakes (unless you drive a hybrid, which recovers that energy). This is an especially difficult challenge to avoid for large vehicles, which usually have extra horsepower added to their engines to help meet this energy need. Many people buy large vehicles specifically because of this power. However, that energy comes from burning gasoline, and the more you draw on that power, the more gas you use.

Implementing one, or all of these little tips can start lowering your gas usage, which in turn can help your pocketbook. You may not have any control over the price of gas, but you can at least have a little influence over how much you use.

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