Vinegar - Useful and Frugal

This works BETTER than Drain-O or any other product on the market:

First you need to pour ½ cup of baking soda down the drain. Make sure all of it is in the drain. Then you pour ½ cup of plain white vinegar down the drain. This will cause a foaming action and the foam will spill back up the drain. Don’t worry about it; the foam will go back down.

Let this sit in the drain for at least 2 hours. If the clog is really bad up the solution to 1 cup of each. After you have let it sit boil a pot of water, and make sure it’s boiling hot. Then flush the drain with that boiling pot of water. This should clear your drain.

Some people swear by this and use is regularly. In fact to keep your drain clear you can do the ½ cup of each every month as a preventative as well.

Oven Cleaner:

5 Tb of Baking soda

4 Tb white vinegar

3 drops or squirts of dish soap

You stir it up to make a thick paste and use one of those green scrubbies. After I scrub it for just a few minutes I wipe all the junk up and take my handy bottle of 1/2 white vinager and 1/2 water solution(my all purpose cleaner) give it a spray and quick wipe and it is sparkling. I have to say the best part of it all is that it is non-toxic.


Vinegar really works for ants!! We had teeny red ants all over the kitchen and pantry. I bought a 50 cent spray bottle, mix a 50/50 white vinegar-water solution, and when I'm done with the dishes, I spray the counters down with that to clean them. My son and I took everything out of the pantry & sprayed the shelves, then put it all back in. I haven't seen an ant since!!! We spray the counters at least once a day, the smell fades in just a few minutes.

Skincare

Make your own skincare and beauty products. You can use avocado, banana and yogurt to make a great facial mask. For more recipes to get you started go to http://www.kinderinfo.com/justformom/spa.htm

If you've been using store bought products, this can add up to some great savings quickly.

How Do You Do It???

Whenever I tell people I can buy a months worth of groceries for $300 (or $200 in a pinch) they ask HOW do you do THAT?? Well, it's really not as hard as it sounds. The key is organization and planning. Here are a few tips for newbies to the world of frugal grocery shopping.

Stock up! Your first grocery trip on your road to saving is actually to spend a little more than you are used to. Items that are staples in your pantry should be purchased in large quantity if possible. These include items such as flour, sugar, pasta, dry beans, rice, oatmeal, canned goods, etc.

Plan your menus. Before you head off to the grocery store, make a list of the meals you plan to prepare. If you shop every two weeks make a list of two weeks worth of meals. Take a look at what you have on hand and what is on sale in the weekly circulars from the grocery stores before you plan your meals.

Use Coupons. If there is a particular item you always purchase look for coupons. If an item is on sale and you have a coupon then buy that item. Don't use a coupon just because something is new or trendy, only use coupons if they will save you money.

Buy Store Brands. It's true that all the ads on TV and in magazines make the name brand items look much more glamorous, but often times the store brands are just as good if not better. Actually, many store brands are manufactured by the same name brand companies we all know and recognize.

Shop on sale days. Our local grocer offers specials every Thursday. They range from a one day meat sale to a Pillsbury brand sale. No matter what the theme is for the week, the prices are always great!

Don't buy convenience foods. It's so easy to load up a grocery cart with frozen meals, instant boxed dinners, individual serving sized juices, pre-packaged lunches and junk food. However, not only do these items offer little nutritional value for your family, they are a huge waste of money. Which is why I almost always...

Cook from scratch! The more you can prepare meals from scratch, the more money you will save. Home cooked meals are also higher in nutrition and you know exactly what you are eating, unlike many pre-made meals. From scratch doesn't have to mean a lot of time and clean up. A simple meal like baked or grilled chicken, steamed vegetables and rice can be prepared in under 30 minutes with minimal clean up.

Freeze Things. I always try to prepare a double batch any time I cook anything. It saves me time and effort for future meals and on days that things get really hectic I don't have to worry about what is for dinner. I also freeze bread ends to make my own bread crumbs (which I store in the freezer), leftovers to use for future lunches, bananas for breads and muffins and anything else that might otherwise get thrown out and wasted.

Keep a Price Book. When you shop take a few moments to jot down what you buy and how much it costs. Make a master list of items and the prices (include prices from each store that you shop). When you take the time to do this you will know if it's worth it to go to a different store to stock up on a sale item. It is also a great way to calculate how much you will spend before you get to the grocery store. I actually use a software called Home Cookin to keep my Price Book.

Only take what you plan to spend. If you use a debit card, take your draw from the ATM in the amount you plan to spend for groceries. Then leave your card AT HOME. That way you won't be tempted to spend more than you have budgeted.

Eat Your Leftovers. Have beans leftover, make refried beans. Stale bread can be made into bread pudding or bread crumbs. Chicken from last night's dinner becomes chicken salad. Leftover pasta sauce can top a pizza. Don't prepare a new meal until all the leftovers are gone.

Forget the junk food. My theory is if you don't buy it then you can't eat it. We RARELY buy sodas, chips, cookies, ice cream, pastries or any other junk food. I give my kids healthy snacks and we drink a lot of water. I do make them Kool Aid, lemonade and tea but they don't miss the junk food because they are not used to having it.

By following these simple guidelines I have been able to keep our budget down and our nutrition level optimum. It's really not that difficult once you give it a try!

tips

If you have a prescription plan with your Med insurance, ask you Dr. he/she may be able to prescribe pain relievers, decongestants, etc so you can get them cheaper than buying OTC.

Write to the address on the back of goods you purchase, voice your complements or your concerns and they will send you coupons.

Instead of scrubbing your dirty pots with SOS pads and heavy duty cleaners, let them soak over night in water with a used dryer sheet in it the gook will wipe right off the next day.

If you have a problem with ants, sprinkle Cayenne pepper around the barrier of your house it fights them off great and is a lot cheaper than and sprays and traps.

How to get the best price for things you buy online

Lets say you see an awesome "something" online that you just have to have. Follow these steps to find the best price on that item.

First, copy the item name/description headline. Most companies use the same decription for items. There was a dress I bought once... the title of the dress was "Arwen Dress Style c532" or something similar. I copied this and plugged it into www.froogle.com

Froogle isn't perfect, but it does help you find more than one site that offers the product and shows you the diffrent prices they sell it for.

Once you find the cheapest site copy the site's name and plug it into google, adding the words "Discount coupon code" or "online coupon code" or "online discount code" to find if there are any promotional codes for the store. Buy doing this I found that the store that had my dress cheapest also had a 5% discount code as well.

You have to check out the shipping charges to make sure you are saving money and not getting jacked on shipping.

If you have an Upromise account (or something similar) then you buy your item from the store, through their site so you can get cash back (or what ever your shopping site offers.)

By doing this my 85$ occasional dress went down to 45$ plus 5% off, plus 10% back through upromise, making the dress cost half as much as it would have if I had just bought it at the first place I saw it.

Save on spices

Buy fresh herbs from the discount rack at your local produce store (usually around .39 cents a bundle here) and hang them to dry in your house. They may be wilted when you buy them but it doesn't matter because you're just going to dry them anyways. Then crumble them up and put them in your spice jars. Spices cost between 1$-4$ so it's a big savings.

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Save 10-40% on Auto Insurance

Introducing the Collision Deductible Reserve Plan (CDRP) from IDA which will be available on Sept. 8. With the CDRP many people will be able to save 10-40% on their auto insurance without changing insurance company or agent. The CDRP allows you to raise your collision deductible to $1,000 thereby saving you money on your auto insurance. This could amount to several thousand dollars in savings over your driving career.

If you're like most drivers you carry a $250 or $500 collision insurance deductible. By raising your collision insurance deductible to $1,000 you can save up to 40% on your overall insurance premium.

Saving just $20.00 per month over a 30-year driving career would result in saving thousands of dollars.

You're probably thinking "why don't I just save a $1,000 myself?".

Many times when you take out a loan to buy or lease a car many banks and leasing companies have an internal policy that restricts clients from carry collision deductibles in an amount greater than $500. IDA has an "Exception to Policy Request Form" that clients may complete and send to their lending institutions requesting an exception to that policy and asking them to allow a higher collision deductible because they have a CDRP account. In the testing phase, IDA has found that most lending institutions readily accept this request for an exception to policy and allow customers to carry higher collision deductibles.

Additionally, trying to accumulate $1,000 at a rapid pace, after raising your collision deductible to $1,000, introduces the "additional risk" of having to pay a high collision deductible before you have saved $1,000. And, since most people do not have an extra $1,000 available to spend in case they have a collision, the CDRP ensures that a high collision deductible can be paid even before you have saved $1,000.

For example, let's say that you would save $25.00 a month by raising your collision deductible to $1,000. It would take you 40 months to save that $1,000.

That 40-month window is called the "accumulation period". But, what if you had a collision in month three. You would have only saved $75.00, but would still need $925 to pay your collision deductible.

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Using Your Car’s Features to Minimize Gas Use

The quest for relief from oppressive gas prices have led drivers on searches far and wide for ways to minimize the effect of the high prices on their wallets. However, many drivers are literally at arm’s length from ways to help themselves, and do not even know it! In fact, many features that come standard with new vehicles are not only convenient, but can help you to save on gas usage as well!
Since every gallon counts at today’s gas prices, even the simplest improvements to gas mileage can lead to more money in your pockets. Although many products make gaudy claims to improve gas mileage drastically, most (if not all) of these claims are unproven. As usual, the best remedies are usually the simple and somewhat obvious ones. For instance, use your car’s already existing features to ease up on your gas usage when you are driving around from place to place.
Cruise control is a great feature for many reasons. It can keep you from having to glance down at your speed all the time, for one thing. This means that you can avoid getting a speeding ticket by merely setting a consistent speed that will not get you pulled over. Using the cruise control feature effectively takes away any chance of you accidentally getting a heavy foot and an unintended speeding ticket as a result.
However, cruise control is also a great way to conserve gas! When you are on the highway, the cruise control can help your car to stay at a consistent speed. This means that you will not be accidentally increasing your speed and making the car periodically work harder. So, you see? Some of the best ways to conserve gasoline are also convenient methods of driving, anyway!
If you have an “overdrive” option for your car, you should use the overdrive gears whenever possible. Overdrive allows your engine to work much less than it would otherwise. Of course, the less your engine works, the less gasoline you use. In other words, overdrive alone will increase your vehicle’s fuel efficiency!
While you are at it, keep your eye on your RPM gauge, especially if you drive a manual transmission automobile. After all, any time your car is running in the high end of the RPM range, you are using more engine power than you need to, and thusly, more gas. Make sure that you are not staying in the low gears for too long before shifting, and spend as much time in the comfortable RPM range of higher gears as you can, since you will save yourself some gas in the process. The RPM gauge is another example of an under-utilized feature that, if used correctly, can help you to conserve gas.
While we are talking about features to use, let’s also mention a feature that you should stay away from if you are trying to conserve gas: the air conditioning feature. If you turn on your car’s air conditioning, your car will end up working much harder than usual, which means your car will consume more gas to fuel that work. The easy translation here is to avoid the air conditioning whenever you can. After all, it may be hot out, but you definitely do not want to have to sweat it out while pumping gas into your empty tank, right?
As you can see, there are many fairly basic features that can help you to keep your car going and away from the gas station. Even though some of these features may only have a small effect on your car’s gas usage, if you follow all of the tips, it will add up. Again, with gas prices as high as they are now, even if you can save a gallon or two here and there, that can be a pretty substantial savings for you!

Why You Should Avoid Fuel Economy Products

A lot of things have happened due to the huge increases in gas prices that we have seen over the last several years. One of the more intriguing results has been the creation of a new market, which is the area of products that claim to increase gas mileage of cars, trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles alike. The manufacturers of these products are counting on a frustrating and fed up public to support their products in an effort to escape gas expenses. However, are these products worth the money or not?
First, you have to look at the things that the manufacturers of these products are boasting. They claim significant increases to fuel efficiency, but have they proven these claims? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (or EPA), they have not. The EPA is responsible for testing and certifying the fuel economy of vehicles, among other tasks. When you go to a car dealership and see on a sticker that a vehicle gets x miles per gallon, that is information obtained by testing done by the EPA.
The EPA also has tested a number of products that are supposed to increase gas mileage, but they have not found any yet do so significantly. That is one reason why you should use caution when shelling out money for these types of products. They may claim to do wonderful things, but if there are no proven results to back up the claims, they are not to be taken without a grain of salt.
It is also important to note that you do not have to buy expensive and costly products to increase your car’s fuel efficiency. In fact, there are a nearly endless number of ways to increase gas mileage without spending a dime! For instance, you can make sure that you remove unneeded items from your car, so that you are not driving excess weight around. You can also do something as simple as use the cruise control more often, or avoid using the air conditioner, since it leads to more fuel usage than normal.
Other valuable tips include simply tweaking your driving style. If you can control your speed on the highway and try to coast when you know that you may have to stop shortly, you can see some improvements to your fuel economy. Often, you will notice huge changes by simply staying off the gas a bit when driving on the highway; far bigger changes than you would ever receive from pouring a product in your gas tank!
There are even more very simple tips, such as not leaving your car running when you leave it to go inside a store or gas station, or keeping your tires properly inflated, since not doing so can cost you some of your ideal gas mileage. Again, there is simply no shortage of easy and free ways to increase your vehicle’s fuel economy!
That is why you really do not need to rely on expensive products to increase your fuel economy. After all, there are so many ways to do so already, that unless you are taking advantage of all of them and still not getting the results you want, why would you pay for a product that supposedly does the same thing?

Using Public Transportation to Cut Gas Costs

In all but a few communities, it seems that public transportation does not get a fair shake. After all, most people are not tempted by the idea of sharing space with many strangers on a bus, and instead opt for the considerably more expensive (and damaging to the environment) option of driving their own cars instead. While no one can blame someone for their own personal preference, if you are serious about cutting your personal gas costs, you may want to give public transportation a bit of consideration!
Let’s face it- the cost of gas is not letting up anytime soon. Though many of us do not really understand what forces are driving the cost up so much or why gas prices have to continue to rise, we do know that it is unlikely that gas will become much more affordable anytime soon. That is precisely why it is up to all of us to reduce our gas usage so that we can enjoy a break from paying big money for fuel at the pump. After all, while we may not be able to control the price of gas, we can certainly control how much gas we use and how often we buy it.
While there are many ways to increase your vehicle’s fuel efficiency, there simply is no way to beat the value of simply not driving at all. If your car stays parked, it uses no gas whatsoever, after all! That is why you should probably look into transportation whenever possible. Although there may be barriers in your area towards incorporating public transportation into your lifestyle, there may be more options than you would think.
For instance, even if the local bus or subway does not stop anywhere near where you work, that does not mean that you can’t occasionally use these methods of transportation to go shopping or to a night out on the town on the weekend. Depending on what activities you decide to engage in on a weekend night, you may be better off with the convenience of public transportation, anyway! You can take a bus downtown, then take a cab home at the end of the night!
Many folks are not satisfied with the areas of travel that are provided by their local public transportation options. However, routes will not expand if people are not taking advantage of public transportation to begin with! The only way to get more coverage is to support the system that is already in place. You can do this, along with speaking with your local officials about expanding the public transportation system, and you may be pleasantly surprised by the results.
While there is no way to force anyone to use public transportation, there has never been a better time than the present to give it a try! In many areas, there is a negative stigma surrounding public transportation, which is unfortunate. After all, public transportation provides a great way to save gas money, all while helping the environment by reducing the number of vehicles on the road (and therefore, the amount of emissions). What could be better than getting to where you need to go at a low price, all while helping to preserve the environment? If gas prices have got you down, give public transportation a try!

Stay Away from Air Conditioning, Stay Away from the Pump

Exorbitant gas prices have most drivers trying to find any way that they can to decrease their fuel expenses. Luckily, there are several very easy ways that the average driver can limit their car, truck, van or SUV’s gas usage. Most of these methods rely on simple changes made by the driver in particular, and will not cost you any money to enjoy their benefits.
First of all, do not waste your money on spendy items and products that boast increased gas mileage after usage. After all, most of these products are very unproven. The Environmental Protection Agency has not found that any of the products tested so far have significantly increased gas mileage for the vehicles they were used in. That is why when you are looking for ways to improve fuel efficiency, you should look to methods that you can easily take advantage of on your own, without having to rely on costly products or gimmicks in the process.
One of the easiest ways to conserve gas is to simply avoid turning on the air conditioner in your vehicle. Most people are already aware that when the air conditioner is on, the engine seems less responsive and powerful. It may even feel a little sluggish, because your car is working hard to power the air conditioner. Not only does the air conditioner affect your engine’s performance, however, but your vehicle will also get worsened gas mileage if you drive with the air conditioner on as well!
The solution is fairly simple and predictable: try to avoid using the air conditioner in your vehicle, unless it is absolutely necessary. This may lead to a somewhat less comfortable environment in your car, but you have to balance out that negative against the very attractive positive involved with saving on fuel consumption. After all, you will definitely appreciate the extra money you will have in your wallet when you can stop making such frequent stops at the gas pump!
It is also important to mention that you do not have to sweat like crazy in order to save some money. There are ways that you can stay cool while avoiding the use of your car’s air conditioner. One very simple way to do so is to try to constrain your traveling to times of day when the weather is less oppressive. Avoid driving when the sun (and the temperature) is at its peak, as this will only tempt you to turn on the air conditioner. Instead, try to make trips in the evening or morning, whenever possible.
Another way to cool off without taking the step of turning on the car’s air conditioner is as simple as rolling down the windows. When you are driving at higher speeds, you will notice a very nice breeze coming in, which will often be enough to keep you comfortable, even on hot days. This is a fun way to save a little money on gas, while enjoying a comforting breeze at the same time!
Some people would point out that driving with the windows open can cost you a bit of gas mileage as well, which is true. However, the effect does not compare to the increased fuel consumption that driving your car with the air conditioner causes. Also, you can combat this effect by simply backing up off the gas a bit and driving a little more slowly on the interstate.
No one wants to feel the heat of summer, but we also do not want to feel the heat of the gas prices bearing down on us. If you can find ways to avoid using your vehicle’s air conditioner, you will probably be quite pleased with your car’s increased fuel efficiency. After all, none of us wants to make more trips to the gas station than we already are, so make sure to only use the air conditioner when it is absolutely necessary!

Save Gas By Performing Simple Maintenance

Vehicles can be very expensive, as any driver probably already knows. There is the cost of oil changes, repairs, car insurance, and let’s not forget, gas! The price of gas alone is enough to make many drivers want to go into hibernation and simply wait for them to come back down to earth. However, that is not a real option, as we all still have places we have to get to, and it simply costs money to get there.
Luckily, the regular maintenance that you have to perform on your vehicle anyway can actually help you to get more mileage out of the fuel you use! It is nice to know, especially these days, that the money you spend on this kind of maintenance can also help you save money at the gas pump! Conversely, if you do not have the regular maintenance done on your vehicle like you should, your gas mileage is sure to suffer.
One of the very rudimentary things that has to be done with your car every so often is getting an oil change. Oil changes can occur ever few months or even sooner, if you drive a lot, but you do not want to let them slide (no pun intended)! After all, oil changes keep your engine running smoothly, which in turn allows you to get more mileage out of the gas you put into your car. It is also important to use the correct grade of motor oil, as this can have a small effect on your gas mileage, as well.
Another type of regular maintenance that can help you to increase your gas mileage is getting your car tuned. Tune-ups are hard to measure in terms of increased fuel efficiency, but it has been speculated that a car that is properly tuned will use 4% less gas than a car that is not tuned and has not been in some time. While 4% may not seem like that much money, think of it as sixteen cents of savings for gas, if the price is $4 per gallon. As you can see, that can add up to a substantial amount!
It is also of the utmost importance to get your car checked regularly, especially your fuel intake, exhaust and other systems that can affect gas mileage. If there is a problem with an important part of these systems, you car will probably still run, but fuel efficiency can be very badly affected, causing you to lose almost half of your fuel efficiency in some cases! It definitely pays to get problems like those fixed!
One of the least expensive, but most effective, improvements you can make for gas mileage is to simply replace old, clogged air filters. Although it may not seem like a big deal to drive around with dirty air filters, filthy ones can rob you of 10% of your fuel economy! Again, for the price it costs to fix this simple problem, you really can’t beat the results you receive!
These are a few of the things that you should be already doing for your car that will provide you with benefits to your vehicle’s fuel efficiency. If you have been slacking on these areas of maintenance, make sure to get on the ball! It may cost you money to maintain your car at first, but it may very well save you money in the end!

Plan Your Trips Ahead To Avoid Wasting Gas

It is unfortunate but true that most of us have no direct effect on the substantially high cost of gas. After all, gas prices are set by forces that are far beyond our control, and there is nothing we can do about the expenses we incur while driving, right? Well, that is only partially correct. See, while we may not be able to control the price per gallon of gas, we certainly can control how much gasoline we use, and therefore, how often we have to fill up our automobiles! Doing so is not as difficult as you may think!
When most people think about conserving gas, they figure that it must be an annoying and inconvenient process. However, learning to conserve gas can actually be a very easy thing to do, and may lead you to develop better overall habits as well. For instance, planning your trips ahead of time is a great way to use less gas, and it is also a good idea anyway, as it is a skill that helps you to remain more organized in your daily life.
Many people today live outside of city areas, sometimes up to dozens of miles away in rural towns or other areas. For these folks, it is absolutely vital to plan ahead when considering trips that have to be made, at least if they want to save money on gas! Since these people have to drive many highway miles per week as it is, it is not advisable for them to make extra trips into town, especially when they could have consolidated all their shopping needs or errand running into one trip.
Another aspect of trip planning is being smart about where you will go and when. If you know that you can wait to drive around the city and get done whatever you need to get done, then try to avoid doing so during peak driving hours. Nothing kills your gas mileage more than sitting in a traffic jam, or stuck a hundred feet from a stopped traffic light, waiting for everyone to take turns accelerating once the light turns green. If you can avoid these frustrating and gas guzzling driving situations, you will be one step closer to your goal of limiting your fuel consumption.
Finally, make sure that you are organized when you go to the store or out shopping. It is a good idea to make a list before you leave, even if you believe that you will not forget anything. It is easy to forget to buy an important item at the grocery store, especially if you are in a hurry or have a lot of other items to remember. This means that when you return home, you will have to go back to the store to get the forgotten item(s) or simply make do without them until your next trip to the store. Alas, neither of these options are very attractive ones, so try to be organized when you head out to the store.
As you have probably realized, it is not difficult to make proper trip planning a part of your regular daily life. If you do so, you will easily be able to minimize your driving, and you will find yourself having to fuel your vehicle up far less often as a result.

Little Known Ways to Improve Fuel Economy

There is not a single driver among us who would not prefer to spend less of their hard-earned cash at the fuel pump. That is why people are becoming more and more aware of the many simple and cost effective ways that they can improve their fuel economy. However, what do you say to people who are already familiar with the basics? Fortunately, there are many little known ways that you can improve your gas mileage.
Just about everyone knows that if you want to save gas, you need to drive slower. After all, that is common sense. Even though you can save a lot of gas by going slower on the highway, many people are unwilling to do so, for instance. The trick is to find ways to increase gas mileage without having to do things that you are not willing to do in the long term. That is what these tips will help you do.
First of all, stop neglecting the regular maintenance that your car needs! According to studies, a dirty air filter can cost you up to 20% of the gas mileage you should be receiving. A quick change of spark plugs can increase your fuel economy by over 10%! Also, many people are not aware that they can increase their gas mileage simply by keeping their tires properly inflated!
Similarly, too many drivers are carting around a vehicle full of unnecessary things that are robbing them of valuable gas mileage. For every 250 pounds of excess gear in your car, you can count on around one mile per gallon lost! Also, make sure that you take bike racks and other items off of your vehicle when it is not the proper season. It may take a few minutes, but such items produce extra wind resistance, which makes your vehicle work harder to accelerate or maintain speed.
You can even save some money on gas while you’re spending money- at the gas pump, that is. For example, when the auto shut off kicks in, do not squeeze in a couple of extra cents to make the dollar amount even. This is one of the ways in which people waste money, since most of that extra gas will not end up properly going in the tank. Also, most drivers are unaware that a loose gas cap can not only cause your “service engine” light to go on, but can also result in lost gasoline, which escapes as vapor out of the tank!
Finally, make sure that you use your car’s features to their maximum effect. You can save a little money on gas by using your cruise control often, since your engine will not be working to match the fluctuations in pressure that you are putting on the gas pedal. Also, make sure that you use the overdrive function when possible, since it allows your engine to avoid overworking itself.
Driving and maintaining your vehicle in a way that allows for increased fuel economy is mostly a matter of having the proper knowledge, then putting that information to work. It is vital that you not only know the methods for increasing gas mileage, but that you are consistent in their implementation, unless you want to keep visiting the gas station regularly!

Less Junk in the Trunk, More Cash to Pass

Many of the solutions to using a lot of gas are so simple, yet they somehow elude us, despite their obviousness. After all, modern men and women have quested long and far to find any possible solutions to the problems caused by unrelenting gas prices. While many have adopted very extreme methods of saving gas, such as becoming hermits and refusing to drive, or buying an expensive new hybrid vehicle, there are many simple ways to reduce fuel consumption as well!
It is important to make sure that you explore all of your options before resorting to a drastic choice such as becoming a shut-in, or buying a Toy-onda Motors Hybrid LX 1300 SP. Many of the ways that you can decrease the amount of gas you use, and therefore the amount of money you spend at the gas pump, can be had without making any major changes to your lifestyle. You simply have to be smart. For instance, let’s discuss the junk in your trunk, and why you should get rid of it!
Many drivers make their way around town with an arsenal of items, goods and ancient artifacts in their cars that really do not need to be there. They do this without knowing that carrying all of this extra weight in their car is costing them whenever they have to fuel up! That is because added weight in your car makes your car work much harder to get from place to place, thereby increasing your vehicle’s fuel consumption!
How much does the added and unnecessary weight decrease your gas mileage? Most people say that an extra hundred pounds can decrease your gas mileage by 1 or 2 percent. This may sound like an insignificant amount, but think about gas prices. Two percent of four dollars, for example, is eight cents. Would you take some old items out of your trunk in order to save eight cents a gallon? Most drivers will drive across town for savings like that!
Also, consider that you may be carrying more than an extra one hundred pounds in your car. Depending on the amount of unneeded stuff in your car, you can be hampering your gas mileage and fuel efficiency by a somewhat significant margin! Again, it only takes a minute to remove excess items from your car; the key is to motivate yourself to get it done!
Many people consider their cars to not just be methods of transportation, but also as a sort of mobile storage facility for things that they do not care about enough to keep in their homes. That is the kind of thinking that wastes gas, ladies and gentlemen. There are many different ways to decrease fuel consumption, of course, and this is just one of them. But at the same time, every gallon counts! If you can save a little bit of money at the pump, why pass that chance up?
It is ultimately up to you to make sure that you do the things necessary to improve the fuel efficiency of your car, truck, van or sport utility vehicle. With gas prices continuing to go up and no end in sight, any type of relief is better than nothing! With that in mind, get rid of that junk in your trunk and start saving!

How to Organize a Car Pool to Reduce Gas Expenses

Who would not want to spend less money at their local gas station every week? It would be hard to find someone who is not interested in conserving gas, but doing so is much harder than it would seem to be, at times. One of the most obvious ways to reduce fuel expenses is to simply not drive, but for many people, that is really not feasible. After all, most people have responsibilities that require them to be at specific places at certain times, and this in turn requires them to operate a motor vehicle to get there.
However, many people are not taking advantage of the somewhat popular practice of car pooling. Car pooling has been around for years now, and while it has steadily increased in popularity, it still is not as widely used as it should be. The reasons vary, as some people simply prefer to drive by themselves to and from places, and others do not know anyone that lives near them, or do not want to coordinate a regular car pool. The reality is, however, if you want to save money on gas, there are few better ways to do so than by participating in a car pool.
Organizing a car pool can be fairly simple. For instance, it can be as easy as posting a sign up at your work, or asking around to see if anyone who shares your place of employment lives near you. If they live along your route to work, you can also simply pick them up every day, in exchange for a little monetary contribution towards the expense of gas. This will not cause you any major inconvenience, but it will save you a lot of money spent on fueling up your car each week!
Many people only think of car pooling as a way to get to and from work, but there are many other times when a car pool is an equally great idea. For instance, you can form a car pool with people that live near you for things such as going to the gym, shopping at the grocery store, or heading out to the mall. If you are planning on taking a vacation, it can be a very expensive endeavor, especially if you will be driving. However, if you pair up with a couple that you enjoy being around, you can all take one car and cut your gas costs literally in half!
It may not always be convenient to car pool, but the barriers are usually not that serious. What you really have to consider is whether it is worth it to you to have the comfort of driving in silence and solitude, even if it means that you will pay the full cost of gas all by yourself. Most people would rather have a little company, all while saving some money at the fuel pump. That is why car pools continue to be a fairly common thing, even to this day. If you have never tried car pooling before, give it a shot! With gas prices being so high, there really has never been a better time than now to give car pooling a chance. You never know, you may even enjoy the company and make a new friend or two!

How Maintaining Your Car Helps You Save Gas

If you drive even somewhat regularly, it is likely that you are as sick of high gas prices as the rest of us are. However, there is very little that any of us can do to directly affect the price of gas, so we are forced to turn our attention to doing whatever we can to limit the amount of gas that we use. You may or may not be aware that there are very easy methods for increasing the gas mileage you get in your car, van, truck or sport utility vehicle. In fact, many of the ways that you can help your vehicle’s gas mileage are through simple maintenance that you should be performing on your vehicle anyway!
It is unfortunate that many who are attempting to escape high gas prices have turned to costly products that claim they can help your vehicle get more gas mileage. Of course, it makes little sense to spend money in order to save money, particularly when these products are largely unproven to begin with. That is why when you are trying to dramatically increase your vehicle’s gas mileage, it is better to stick to the more reliable, more basic methods instead. These methods definitely include performing the regular maintenance that your car requires already.
Most drivers are fairly diligent about getting oil changes regularly for their vehicle. After all, regular oil changes are among the most fundamental (and cheap) ways to maintain your vehicle’s performance and condition. Many people do not know, however, that regular oil changes also help to limit fuel consumption! That means that you will save money in the end, even if you have to spend money to perform an oil change or have one done for you. Also, while you’re at it, make sure that your car is running on the appropriate grade of oil. This can reduce your fuel consumption by one or two percent.
One of the better ways to easily increase your car’s gas mileage is also one of the easiest. The next time you pull up to a gas station or car wash that has an air pump, check the air pressure in your tires and add air, if necessary. At many gas stations or car washes, this will not cost you anything. Even if the only machine you can find is a pay machine, it will still likely only cost you as much as fifty cents. The price (or lack thereof) and simplicity of this method makes it a great way to help keep yourself away from the gas pump.
Another type of regular maintenance that your car requires consists of regular tune-ups. Tune-ups help to ensure that your car is performing as well as it should be, including in respect to gas mileage. Also, most tune-ups include a check of other important areas, which may reveal a problem with your car that is costing you valuable gas mileage. Fixing many of these areas may result in drastically improved performance and gas mileage, so that is a side benefit of tuning your car, as well.
The vehicle maintenance that will net you the most improved gas mileage is definitely that of checking and replacing dirty, clogged air filters. If your air filters are filthy, make sure to switch them out with clean, new ones right away! Doing so can boost your gas mileage by one-tenth! That is a pretty significant amount when you consider today’s unsavory gas prices. Think about one-tenth of a gallon of gas where you live. That’s how much you can expect to save, per gallon, if you drive with clean (rather than a dirty) air filters.
These types of relatively simple vehicle maintenance prove once and for all that it is not necessary to buy costly products to increase your gas mileage. Simply do the maintenance that you should already be doing for your car, and you will reap the benefits!

Free Ways to Increase Your Gas Mileage

Companies are well aware that consumers are desperate to reduce their fuel consumption. That is why the market has been flooded with products that supposedly increase your gas mileage significantly. Let’s ignore the fact that none of these products’ claims have been proved by the Environmental Protection Agency for a minute. It really does not matter either way, because the fact is that there are plenty of ways to increase your gas mileage without having to spend a dime!
It is rather unfortunate that many of these extremely easy ways to increase gas mileage are still unknown by much of the general public. The gas prices and their constant increases have caused the economy to sputter, and have put a lot of pressure on lower and middle class families. It is important for these folks, along with everyone else that drives regularly, to know that they can save on their gas costs without making any extra financial investment!
Many of the methods for increasing gas mileage are quite simple. For instance, did you know that having the proper level of air pressure in your tires can help you to save gas? It is true! Best of all, most gas stations and even car washes have free air machines that will help you to monitor and adjust your tire pressure according to whether it is a bit high or low.
You can also increase your gas mileage by avoiding certain things while driving. For instance, you can avoid using the air conditioning system in your vehicle, since air conditioning makes your engine work harder, which in turn means that you use more gas. At the same time, you can drive with the windows up on cold days, which will also improve your aerodynamics, and thus, your gas mileage. Open windows increase drag, which causes resistance that your car must overcome, after all.
Another great tip for increasing gas mileage without spending a penny is simply to slow down a bit on the highway. If you stay at the speed limit for most highways (55 miles per hour), you will be operating your vehicle at right around the optimum speed for maximum fuel efficiency. Any faster than that, and you will be sacrificing fuel efficiency to get to where you are going just a little bit earlier.
You should avoid doing certain other things, as well, such as idling your engine while you run errands or buy items at the store. It is always better for your gas mileage for you to turn off the engine when you are stopped, even if you are only going to be gone for a couple of minutes. You are wasting gas if you leave your car running, since you have no need for it to be running when you are not going anywhere! You also do not need to “warm your car up” in the winter, as the only way to truly warm an engine up is by driving. If you want it to be warm inside when you get in, try to limit the amount of time you warm up the interior of the car, at least.
These are just a few of the free methods for increasing fuel efficiency. Try these ideas, and see how well they work for you!

Easy Methods of Saving Gas

Gas prices are always a hot topic these days, as they have continued to rise and rise, with no sign of stopping or even slowing down. Many drivers are understandably frustrated, as they are being squeezed hard by the high prices, and seem to have no way to make gas more affordable for themselves. Since it may be foolish to expect a drop in gas prices anytime soon, one of the best ways to deal with the ridiculous price of gas is to look for whatever ways you can to reduce your gas usage.
Many of the best methods for reducing gas usage are also among the very easiest! This is very fortunate for those who do not have mechanical expertise or extra money to invest in products that make exaggerated claims of increased fuel efficiency. If you number yourself among the many that are growing tired of spreading themselves thin because of gas prices, take a look at some of these very simple and free ways to free yourself of some of the cost of gas.
Of course, it is obvious that when you do not drive your car, you use no fuel, which is easily the most affordable option of them all. However, if your car stays parked at home, so do you! What are the alternatives when you have places to go and people to see? Well, a car pool is a great option, if you can make it work. Car pools have been around for years and are quite common. With a car pool system, you can reduce your impact on the environment while you also reduce the impact of gas prices on your wallet!
Most people think of car pools as a way to get to work, but if you know someone who lives near you that has other places to go, you can still car pool! If you have to go to the mall, for instance, check and see if one of your neighbors wants to go, as well. Maybe next time, they will return the favor.
Smart trip planning is another weapon that consumers have to fight the roaring albatross that is gas prices. To swing this deadly blade and slay the beast, simply plan ahead when you go out to make sure that you consolidate all of your shopping and errand-running needs into one trip. If you live in a small town and must take the highway to get shopping done, it is even more important to plan your trips well to avoid excess driving!
One big “no-no” that is easily avoided is leaving your car’s engine on when you are not going anywhere. This can include when you run in quickly to the store or gas station, or when you are waiting for a friend to come outside so you can go somewhere together. In most cases, it will make much more sense to simply turn your engine off. If you are not currently moving, there is no reason to have your engine on, anyway!
Finally, avoid having excess weight in your car when you are driving around. This means that you do not want to leave items that you do not need in your car for long periods of time, particularly if they are somewhat heavy. This also means that you probably want to make friends with very light people! Well, that may not be true, but it is important to reduce the weight in your car, since every 100 pounds can cause you a loss of 1 or 2 percent of your fuel economy.
It is plain to see that increasing your vehicle’s fuel efficiency does not have to be a complicated or expensive process. It is important to remember that there are alternatives to simply staying home and not driving if you want to save money on gas. The trick is simply to be a bit smarter about where, when and how you drive!

Driving Slow to Save Some Dough

You are not alone in your frustration over gas prices these days. Everyone who has to pull up to the gas station and fuel up their vehicle shakes their head when they see the price, after all. Along with the frustration over gas prices, many people feel helpless. What can you do to lower gas prices? It is not as if you can simply stop driving altogether to send a message about your feelings on gas prices! That may be true, but there are things you can do to reduce your spending on fuel.
While the price that you pay for gas per gallon may be well beyond your control, the amount of gas that you use is something that you can change. You can do this in a few ways, such as buying a more fuel efficient automobile, or staying home instead of driving around so much. However, for those who do not want to buy a new vehicle or who can not just stay at home indefinitely, what options are there? One of the simplest options, actually, is something that can be done quite easily. Simply put, you can slow down!
When many people think about slowing down their driving, they are primarily thinking about either avoiding speeding tickets or becoming safer drivers. While it is true that slowing down provides these two important benefits, you can also save quite a bit of gas by slowing down your speed, both in town and on the highway.
Too many people ride the accelerator as they drive in city situations. They speed up, even though a red light is ahead, or someone ahead of them is slowing down. If you can take your foot off the gas and coast a bit, you can save some gas and avoid having to quickly brake when you get to where you have to stop. This means you can conserve gas as well as your brakes! Who knows, you might be coasting when the light turns green, which means that instead of starting from a dead stop, you will start to accelerate with some momentum already built up. This also saves you gas.
Even more gas can be saved on the highway. While your driving style in city situations can raise or lower your gas mileage, it does not affect your fuel consumption as dramatically as does your speed on the highway. You can save a lot of gas by driving at 55 miles per hour instead of 75 miles per hour, for instance. How much? Estimates vary from as little as 20% to all the way up to 30%, but either way, that is a substantial amount of gas! When you figure in the cost of gas right now, it really does pay to slow down a bit on the freeway, interstate, or highway. Again, not only will you save on gas expenses, but you will also avoid traffic tickets when you drive at lower speeds.
It can be very difficult to slow down your speed when driving, especially if you are used to driving quite fast, or if you are impatient. Remember, if you are not running late for something important, you do not need to race to your destination! Doing so will only cost you gas, which costs you money.

Driving Fast Will Cost You Money!

Drivers these days are prisoners of high gas prices. The worse thing is, there is really nothing that any of us can do to help control the price of gas itself. However, we can control, to a certain extent, how much gas we consume. Think about it: the less gas we use, the less we have to buy! If your idea of conserving fuel is simply to make less trips in your car to different places, remember that there are other ways to control how much gas you use, as well. For instance, if you prefer to drive at high speeds, you are saving yourself a little time (and maybe having some fun), but you’re costing yourself a lot of money on gas!
Life moves very fast nowadays. Most people have a lot of responsibilities to attend to, including work, family activities, or any number of things. These types of things lead to people having to rush to get around, which in turn leads to a feeling that “faster is better” when it comes to driving. While it is obviously true that you will get where you are going faster if you drive at a higher speed, you will also spend more money on gas if you drive that way!
It is a basic fact that any vehicle, be it a smaller car, or a large van, truck or SUV, consumes more fuel when driven at faster speeds. Chances are that your vehicle gets its best gas mileage at 55 to 60 miles per hour. Therefore, driving faster than those speeds is going to increase your fuel consumption, which means you are going to buy more gas. Buying more gas? Well, we all know what that means, and we would all like to avoid having to do so. If you are feeling the pressure of high gas prices, maybe you should consider reducing your speed a bit, so that you can buy less fuel.
There are a lot of speed demons out there who routinely go 75 miles per hour, or even faster! For these folks, it is important to note that not only are you greatly increasing your chances of a traffic ticket for speeding (and increasing your chances of death or serious injury in an accident), but you are also greatly increasing your fuel consumption, by as much as 20% or more! That’s right; someone driving at about 55 miles per hour will only consume about four gallons for every five that the speed demon uses. At upwards of four dollars per gallon of gas, no one can afford to use more gas than they need to!
It can be a big change to have to control your speed on a busy highway or a high-speed freeway. After all, you will see impatient drivers passing you constantly, all while you feel like you are practically standing still. However, if you can successfully make the change to driving at slower speeds, you will definitely appreciate the money you are saving on gas expenses! It’s also worth noting that you do not necessarily have to slow all the way down to 55 miles per hour to experience the benefits of increased fuel efficiency. Any reduction in speed will net you some sort of decreased fuel consumption, though obviously you will save more gas the more you slow down.
You may want to pick and choose the times when you put the proverbial pedal to the metal. After all, if you are running late to an important meeting, you may be able to justify driving a bit faster. If you are simply on your way to a weekend cookout at Uncle Jimmy’s, it is not quite so important to drive 80 miles per hour to get there. If your trip is relatively short, you will only cost yourself a few extra minutes of driving time, anyway.