Welcome to MomThatSaves.com
  • Intro
  • Week 1 - Credit Card Negotiations
  • Week 2 - Insurance
  • Week 3 - Shopping & Tracking
  • Week 4 - Tackle Grocery Shopping
  • Week 5 - Join Group Discount Sites
  • Week 6 – End the Gym
  • Week 7 – Negotiate Utilities
  • Week 8 – Reduce your Energy & Water Usage
  • Week 9 – Carpool & Check Credit Reports
  • Week 10 – No Eating Out
  • Week 11 – Consignment Sale
  • Week 12 – Set a Budget
  • Week 14– Buy Annual Passes
  • Week 15 – Host a Party
  • Week 16 – Gas Savings
  • Week 17 – Consignment Shopping:
  • Week 18 – Buy Only Grocery Necessities
  • Week 19 – Be a Giver
  • Week 20 – Cash Only Week
  • Week 21 – Pay Yourself First
  • Week 22 – Review the Budget
  • Week 23 – Eat at Home
  • Week 24 – Turn Your Hobby into a Business
  • Week 25 - Check for Promotions
  • Week 26 – Get Organized
  • Week 27 – Take a Monthly Challenge
Week 16 – Gas Savings

In week 9 I talked about carpooling, but there are more ways to save gas on an everyday basis by simply adopting a few new rules to your driving and car maintenance habits.

Use Cruise Control.  Allowing your car’s computer control the speed is a win-win for laziness and the environment. Most tips for improving gas mileage require some work on your part, like keeping your tires inflated properly (which can improve mileage by 3 percent and save about 250 pounds of CO2 annually for the average driver).

But you might double that improvement just by relaxing with cruise control. Tests by edmunds.com found that using cruise control improved mileage by 7 percent. (One exception: Cruise control can use more gas if you’re driving in very hilly terrain.)

Even more savings are possible if you’ve got a car with the new “adaptive cruise control” that uses radar or lasers to keep you at a safe distance from other cars. The more drivers who use these systems, the more smoothly traffic flows, resulting in less congestion and therefore less fuel wasted.

Do not carry unnecessary weight in your car.  I am guilty of doing this with a stroller (double stroller at that) in my trunk.

With gas pricing rising almost daily as I write, it makes more and more sense to search for the best gas prices in my area.  I personally, was the type of person who hated stopping for gas.  I usually waited until the gas light came on and then drove another 60 miles or so before filling up.  This behavior usually led me to one and only one gas station that was convenient to my house.  This habit had to change.

There are many website and phone apps that offer this service, but I used gasbuddy.com (website & phone app).  


It was difficult to calculate a savings associated with this week, but I know making small steps to reduce fuel usage adds up.

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