Lower your gasoline consumption

Yahoo Finance recently posted an article on how to lower your gas consumption. My offices are directly across the street from a Phillips 66, so we can watch the price fluctuate (GO UP) every day of the work week. The other day, regular unleaded went from $2.96 up to $3.16. I was over there filling up before work, and I saw a woman there that works with me. She is a young black woman, drives a really big old Caprice, and since I'm Controller of the organization, I know that she barely makes $20,000. I asked her "How much does that thing hold?" She wasn't sure of the tank size, but she said it cost her about $70 to fill up. She also said it only runs on premium, and that was $3.36 a gallon.

She lives quite a ways away from work, too. I live 1 mile from our offices, so I don't burn thru alot of gas. Nevertheless, there are some things you can do to save a bit on gas:

1. Walk! I should be doing this. I need the exercise, and I could go an entire week without driving. But I usually just want to get to work and get as much done as possible, so I don't feel like setting aside the 20 minutes to walk to work.

2. Buy cheap gas. Some cars simply require premium. Funny, my lawn more runs like crap if I don't use premium. But neither of our cars require it, so we don't use it. Read the owners manual for direction on this.

3. Drive slowly. You are not Mario Andretti, and it's not a race. Take off slowly from a dead stop. Not only will this save gas, but you will save your car from wear and tear.


The article outlines quite a few more tips. I am very concerned that our economy will not be able to absorb $4/gallon prices this summer - not to mention my weekend trips to the lake are suddenly going to be super-expensive!