With some experts calling for $4 a gallon gas by this summer here in the States, it’s going to be a lot more expensive to get around. We need to make sure that our transportation needs are met without breaking the bank.
Keeping a car’s maintenance up to par is one of the most crucial aspects to its efficiency and life-span, but many people simply neglect to pay attention to it. It’s a good financial decision to invest in preventative tune-ups as it pays for itself. A tuned-up car will get a lot better fuel mileage as well as last a lot longer. That said, here are some things to check out on your vehicle:
-Oil and Filter
-Air Filter
-Spark Plugs
-Fluid Levels
-Tire Pressure
-All the other good stuff mentioned in the owner’s manual.
None of this stuff is expensive to replace at all, and most can be done by yourself with some basic know-how and a few tools. In addition to those listed above, put your car on a diet. Take out whatever isn’t necessary, and you’ll take some strain off your ride as you cut its weight. Your car will thank you immensely by keeping up on these things.
A few more tips: Aggressive driving severely hinders fuel economy and is hard on the car. Tone it down a bit and save a bundle at the pump. And the best tip of all? Drive less. It’s the easiest way to save money and miles on your car. You can combine some trips, eliminate unnecessary ones, and walk or ride a bike to close destinations. Walking or pedaling instead of driving not only saves money, but gives you exercise and helps the environment at the same time.
5 users commented in " Save Money When Gas Costs $4 a Gallon: Tune Up Your Car "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI wonder if people put too much thought into gas prices going up or down. Realizing it’s an expense we can do nothing about as far as pricing is concerned, why do we bother?
For example, if gas does increase to $4.00/gallon it would cost me an additional $4/week, which is hardly a wallet buster and I commute 20 miles to and from work! It seems our dollar is worth more when it comes to gas - but when it comes to entertainment for example, this same value of a dollar goes out the window.
Milk,
I see your point, but it still adds up over time, especially when we consider that gas this expensive makes pretty much every other product more expensive as well.
Even if it doesn’t affect you much, keeping up on those things isn’t tough and will save you money both in the short and long-runs.
I think you make very relevant, valid points. Automobile maintenance is a no brainer. Simple steps that will pay off both in the sort and long term. If you took that $4.00 a week for 30 years at 11 percent return (historical stock market average) you would have $22,197 saved, after taxes. Not bad. Worth a tune up!. In the big scheme of things, gas at $4.00 a gallon is huge! This will not only affect the cost to get around, but will have a much bigger impact on all consumer goods. As we have seen, perishable items such as milk, bread and eggs have risen 30%+ in the last 12 months. But we have not even seen the long term affect on processed, canned and boxed goods. These items have a shelf life of up to 5 years. So what we are consuming today was made with raw materials from many months or even years ago. I think we will start to see dramatic cost increases in these items over the next year or two as manufacturers work down inventories. The small increases we have seen lately in non-perishable goods is directly related to the transportation costs only, not the dramatic increases in commodities such as wheat. When we fully realize the impact of today’s gas prices, I think it will become clear how important the price of gasoline is to our economy.
John,
Like you did with the water in restaurants, I like your small savings over-time calculations. It really illustrates how saving and becoming financially secure doesn’t require much more than small, dedicated efforts and some smart long term money management. Over a $100,000 from tuning up the car and drinking water in restaurants?! Sheesh,that was easy…
I haven’t ever thought much about your point about non-perishable inputs. The future of our food supply is certainly up in the air. Our current agricultural, processing, and transportation methods are not even close to sustainable. This is going to be both a huge challenge and opportunity.
[…] can be applied to many different areas of our life: Unread magazine subscriptions, a dirty air filter, opting for generic brands, and ordering water in restaurants are just a few of the countless […]
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