Cheap, Quick and Easy Ways to Save Money on Gas

In an ideal world, there would be an abundance of public transportation, hybrid and hydrogen cars galore, a million bike paths and sidewalks on every street. Unfortunately, America's whole infrastructure is based on cars, gas is 4 dollars a gallon and most alternative forms of transportation are years behind the demands of society. So here are some tips to help you save you up to 40% on your gas mileage.

1. Keep a steady pace- don't accelerate to stop lights or constantly speed up and slow down. It uses gas to get your car up to speed which you negate when you use the brakes causing you more gas to get up to speed again. Also, accelerate gently and steady when leaving a stoplight or stop sign.

2. Don't Idle- If it is safe to do so, and you know you'll be idling for a couple minutes or more, shut off the engine and restart it when you are ready to go. Restarting the car uses the same amount of gas as idling for only 10 seconds. This is also very useful when waiting on friends and family.

3. Keep your tires properly inflated- When your tires are low, it causes your engine to work harder, using more gas. You can save up to 3% by keeping your tires properly inflated.

4. Don't speed- After 60mph, most cars gas mileage start to go down. You can save anywhere from 7-23% just from obeying the speed limit. This will save you from having to pay speeding tickets as well.

5. Keep your air filters clean- Your car runs on a combination of gas and air. By keeping the air filters clean and replacing them when needed you can save up to 10% on your gas mileage.

6.Take out any unnecessary weight- You can save 1-2% on gas for every 100 pounds you take out of your car. This can even include losing weight yourself. Image how much guess America could save if everyone just lost 10 lbs. I believe it would be close to a billion lbs a year.

7. Keep your car as aerodynamic as possible- Keep your car Clean, take any unnecessary objects from the car rack and roll up the windows when you get past 35 mph. Also, when possible and safe to do so, drive behind a bigger vehicle as this reduces the wind drag and force on your car.

8. Consolidate trips- Try making one longer trip, starting from the store furthest from your house, working your way back instead of a bunch of smaller trips. You can also coordinate trips to stores that are on the way to picking up a child or on the way to work.

Hopefully these tips can help save you some money on gas. An average person drives 15,000 miles a year, and gets 20 mpg. That equals 750 gallons of gas a year. With gas hitting 4 dollars a gallon and not looking to lower any time soon, that equals 3 thousand a year for gas. Saving just 10% could save you 300 dollars a year. And remember, if you don't have to drive, don't.