Gas prices keep going up and up these days. How are you saving money on gas?

I heard recently that its the many small trips that are using up fuel. Now that the weather is starting to get a bit warmer, I'm back to walking the kids back and forth to school. 1 mile each way, taking them in the morning, going home, picking them up in the afternoon again, walking back again makes for a total of 4 miles for me and 2 for them. I'm hoping this helps our budget and our health.

Any other tips on saving on gas?

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I wish I could walk dd to school its 2 miles one way so I dont think I could make 8 miles a day with the baby in tow! And next yr her school is even further. I try to combine trips. The grocery store is next door to school so I go when I drop her off.

We do many things to help conserve our gas:
1) Drive the speed limit or a little bit slower - besides for not getting any speeding fines, you waste less petrol.
2) Accellerate slowly, the foot on the pedal to acclerate faster burns more gas than slowly accelerating
3) Plan your tips in advance, make sure your trip is the most efficient way to go - so you dont come back on yourself.
4) Make sure your car is serviced and running as optimal as you can, as well as making sure your tires are pumped up.

I wish I could walk my DD's to and from school! We only live less than a mile but it's all 2 lane road and we've had lots of housing tracks built lately so the traffic seems horrible so there's no way I'm taking a chance!

You can also unload anything not being used. The excess poundage helps eat gas!

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~ Jessica

You don't have to let high gas prices ruin your budget

No matter how high gas prices go, you are still in control of how much you spend - or save - on gas.

1. The most obvious way to save gas is to cut back on driving. If you don't have to go anywhere, don't.
2. Instead of a Sunday afternoon drive, rediscover your back yard. Instead of going out to a movie, play a board game. Instead of driving to the park, take a walk with the kids.
3. Wait. If you have a couple of things to do, but they're not pressing, wait until the next two or three things need to be done. Until and unless you have an errand that needs to be done immediately, wait and plan an excursion. After you've combined errands, plan your trip to cover the fewest miles possible, but take into account busy streets where you might have to wait through long traffic lights or you might become entangled in a traffic jam. Take careful note of your options; sometimes a few blocks out of the way can save gas, too.
4. If you have to drive to work every day anyway, take advantage of your route and do errands on the way to or home from work. Even if you have to go a little out of your way, you'll save money over going home and then driving back some other time. Again, wait and do them all at the same time if possible.
5. Carpool if and when you can, and not just going to work. Make a shopping trip a family or neighborhood affair. Sharing rides will save half of your cost and if you want to get into it big time, you can even share a ride across the nation.
6. Drive to an area where you want to shop or have errands to run, park the car and cover your business on foot. I discovered that our Walmart backs up to our KMart and that I can walk it in about three minutes. It takes much longer than that to cover the distance in a car. By the time I leave the parking lot, go through three stop lights, make a turn and find a parking place, I could already be inside and shopping.
7. Walk whenever it's possible, not just between stores, but from home to a store, bank, or wherever you go. If you're not used to walking, take shorter trips, then work on making them longer. Remember that human beings' original transportation was walking. Our bodies are made to walk and with a little common sense, it won't hurt them.
8. Bicycles, mopeds, gas or electric scooters, and motorcycles are a lot easier on the gas bill than the most economical gas burning vehicle. Mileage can be up to 10 times better than an autombile. Just think. If you could save nine tenths of the gas bill you're paying now, would you complain?
9. If public transportation is at all practical, use it. Busses and trains can save a lot of money, especially when you commute regularly. Although it isn't always practical, when public transportation is available, take advantage of it.
10. When you do use your vehicle, be careful of the way you drive. It can make a real difference in how much gas you burn. Slow take offs and slow stops and keeping speed down works.
11. Keep tires properly aired and your vehicle tuned up to get the best mileage. You will save money over the cost of maintenance and your car will last longer, too.
12. If you find that you're still burning more gas than you want to, think about downsizing to a one family car, or try a car sharing program to cut your overall transportation costs. You might have to drive just as much, but you won't have to pay insurance, license taxes, etc., on a car you don't own.

Like so many other things, how much you spend on gas is entirely up to you and how much you are willing to do or do without. It's your choice.

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~ Jessica

. I live in a very walkable city so we do walk a lot. I do send dh on errands on his way home from work. If we go visit our family that live further away we do try to combine visits! We only have 1 car but thats only because I dont drive. Either way I am sure we spend a lot less on gas than many others. Were driving to Disney World in June so I am trying to set a little bit aside every week for that. At least once were there the car should stay parked for a week.

Since I am so pregnant (HUGE really) I have been going out VERY little. I take the van about 5 minutes down the road to dd's preschool twice a week, and if I have to I will do my errands on ONE of those days. My DH does enough driving for both of us.

When I am working and going to school I fill up like 3 times a week (at 40-45 dollars a pop) and now I am filling up every ten days.

In the Summer to save money I will be planning really well.. I will do my groceries after work, since I work next to the grocer, and I will go to the gym before classes. This will save me LOTS of trips into the city where everything is located.

I saved us some money last week when I was out of town - and in the school vehicle. No driving for 4 days made a difference, when I usually drive 45 minutes each day.

My dh works in the town we live in, so he drives the minivan to work. I take the car, which has better gas mileage.

We aren't gas-station-loyal. Whichever station has the cheapest gas gets our business. However, we don't use the credit-card-only station (which usually is cheapest, darn it!), since we are living without using credit cards now.

I know some people do not like credit cards ... however, we pay ours off each month. Our credit card has no annual fee and we get 5% back on gas and supermarket bills. Everything else we get 1% back .... not too shabby.

In my area- we have a few fuel perks programs. The first one is Giant Eagle- for every $50 you spend you get 10 cents off of your gas purchase. Of course they are a higher end store, but often they do have good sales (they also offer double coupons- which helps out). A few other things is that they have tons of gift cards- this helps out as well (during Christmas time they often double the Gift cards to 20 cents every $50 you spend). They also have a children center in there called the 'Eagle's Nest'- they watch your kids for free (all the people are specially trained and they have everything imaginable for your kids).

There is also a resturant in our area (king's family resturant) that also offer a fuel perks program. I believe for every $50 you spend- I think you recieve a $5 gift certificate to Get'Go (which is where you redeem your "fuel perks" from Giant Eagle).

Another thing that I do (if I am not babysitting)- I only leave the house when I have to take my youngest for preschool (too far away to walk)- when she is at school I will try to run all of my errands in one day. Not only does it save on gas- it also helps me save money on not "needing" to buy the little one something (I can be a pushover!).