Gas Guzzling: Lessening the Impact of Fuel Costs on Your Budget

Remember when gas prices reached an all-time high last year? (How could you forget, right?) Thankfully American’s are no longer shelling out $4 a gallon, but even with lower prices fuel is a significant expense for most individuals. While it is a great idea to look for alternative ways to travel at least some of the time (walking, biking, public transport, etc.), the fact is that most of us rely on our cars.

After some research, we’ve come up with a list of ways to save money on gas. Here’s what we learned (content from “15 Ways to Save Money on Gas" by BankRate) and “How to Save Money on Gas—29 Tips” by Andre Gunther:

Engine Warm Up
1. Avoid prolonging your morning engine warm-up. Even on a very cold day 30-45 seconds is plenty of time.

2. Don't start and then stop your engine needlessly. Idling your engine for one minute consumes the same amount of gas as starting your engine.

3. Eliminate “race-track” starts. Once the light turns green accelerate slowly (keeping the pedal about ¼ of the way down). This allows for peak functioning of the carburetor.

Change How You Drive
4. Brake Sparsely. Cars consume the most when they accelerate—once the car is moving it doesn’t require much gasoline to keep moving (think: an object in motion tends to stay in motion). Keep an eye on the cars in front of the car in front of you so you can predict when a slow down is going to occur so you can ease off the gas (rather than breaking abruptly and then starting up again.) This can give you 10-20% better gas mileage. Also, take comfort in knowing that the car tailgating you is not just annoying—the driver is wasting gas because they are subject to your stops and accelerations.

5. Keep windows rolled up when traveling on the highway. Open windows cause air drag and can reduce your mileage by 10%.

6. Think ahead when approaching hills. If you want to accelerate do it before the hill, not on it.

7. Drive the speed limit. It is set for drivers’ safety but will also get you better gas efficiency. For example, driving at 55 mph give you up to 21% better mileage when compared going 60-75 mph. (You’ll also avoid the panic and subsequent break slamming when you see a cop car out of the corner of your eye.)

8. Avoid rough roads—dirt and gravel consume an extra 30% on gas mileage.

9. Plan Ahead. Take alternate routes if the drive will be shorter, safer and straighter. Compare traveling distances, remembering that the shortest distance is always a straight line (so try to minimize curvy roads and sharp corners) I like using mapquest.com to find the shortest and fastest routes. Mapquest will even calculate how much gas your car will use on your chosen route, which is wonderful for calculating travel expenses.

10. Stoplights are usually timed to benefit the motorist. Travel steadily at the legal speed limit and you have a higher change of “green lighting” all the way.

11. Avoid reversing when possible to save gas.

12. Do not rest your left foot on the brake. The slightest pressure could cause a drag that will demand additional gas use—and wear out the brakes sooner.
Shopping for Gas

13. Buy gasoline during the coolest times of the day (like early morning or late evening). Cool temperatures cause gasoline to become dense, and gas pumps measure (and charge) by volume rather than fuel densities. Dense gas=more gas.

14. Don’t top off your gas tank. Too much gas will just slosh or seep out. If the fuel nozzle is automatic don’t fill past the first “click.”

15. Buy the lowest grade (octane) of gasoline that is appropriate for your car (check your owner’s manual for this information). As long as your engine doesn't knock or ping, the fuel is fine for your car. This can save you hundreds every year.

16. Pay cash at stations that charge extra for credit cards.

Maintenance
17. Keep your tires inflated properly. Not only is this much safer, but under inflated tires waste fuel and wear out the tire tread. Check your tires’ alignment and balance regularly.

18. Don’t forget to tune up! Get regular tune ups and follow up with your car’s routine maintenance (check owner’s manual for your car’s recommended maintenance intervals). A well maintained engine runs more efficiently and uses less gas. Pay special attention to maintaining clean air filters, diminished air flow increases gas waste.

19. Lighten up! For every extra 250 pounds your engine supports, the car loses about 1 mile per gallon in fuel economy. Only carry items in your car that you really need. Hauling junk around just isn’t worth it.

20. Only use snow tires when you need them. Driving on deep tire tread burns a lot of fuel.

21. During cold weather watch for icicles frozen to car frame. Up to 100 lbs. can be quickly accumulated which can cause a lot of wind resistance. Use warm water to quickly get rid of the ice.


Happy Driving!

Spring Cleaning the 5 Lessons Way

Whether or not April finds you amidst warm weather and chirping birds, a few post-Easter dust bunnies may be just the inspiration you need to get started on a good spring cleaning. So where to begin? We’ve collected a few tips that will have you rethinking your yearly spring clean and preserving your money and your sanity!

Rethink “Stuff”
Think about this statistic from MSN Money’s article “The Hidden Costs of Too Much Stuff:”

“Since 1970 the size of the average house has increased nearly 40%, from about 1,500 square feet to 2,300 — and that’s despite an overall decline in family size. In addition, we’re building new homes with bigger kitchens and more bedrooms, bathrooms and closets than ever before.” (Quote from Gopal Ahluwalia, director of research for the National Association of Home builders.)

So here’s a scary image for you—more and more of us getting into debt for items we don’t need, only to spend more money to house all of them. When we buy bigger homes and garages to house exorbitant amounts of stuff we end up paying higher mortgages or rent, utilities and taxes. Commit today to rethink what things you really need in your life.

Keep, Give Away, and Unsure
Now is the time to clear out those stacks of junk-mail and cart away the piles of things you’ve been sidestepping for weeks. Think for a minute, how many unused kitchen utensils do you have in your kitchen? One drawer full? Two? What about your closet? Take an honest look at each room of your house and create three piles: Keep, Give Away, and Unsure. The “unsures” are items you’re not sure you’ll use but aren’t ready to get rid of. Put them in a box and tuck it away in a closet or the garage. If you don’t use the items within a month or two then go ahead and give them away.

Still unsure? I found this helpful survey in Donna Smallin’s book “Cleaning Plain and Simple”:

“What if you’re undecided about what to do with a particular item? It’s probably something you could give away, throw away, or sell, but for whatever reason, you’re not quite ready to part with it. Ask yourself:

Have I used this item in the past year? Yes/No

Has anyone else in my home used it in the past year? Yes/No

Do I have a definite use for this in the foreseeable future? Yes/No

If it’s broken, is it worth fixing? Yes/No

Does this item serve a worthwhile purpose in my life? Yes/No

Do I need to keep it for legal or tax purposes? Yes/No

Is it more important to me to keep this item than to have the space it occupies? Yes/No

Do I love it? Yes/No

Does someone in my household love it? Yes/No

Would it be difficult or expensive to get another one if I/we needed it? Yes/No

A “yes” to any of the above questions provides a sound reason to keep the item. A “no” answer, on the other hand, gives you a good reason to toss it.”


Cleaning Green & Cheap
It seems that there is a spray, powder, or scrub for just about every corner of our house, each guaranteed to get the most dirt and germs out. With so many choices it’s easy to end up with an expensive closet full of cleaning potions—many of them environmentally unfriendly and potentially harmful to your family and pets. So what is a householder to do?

Duh duh duh duh! Cheap S. Kate to the rescue! Kate is one of the Institute’s experts and in case any of you missed her blog entitled “Become Your Own Cleaning Lady” here are some of the wonderful solutions she shared with us about creating our own cleaning supplies. (And be sure to visit her Institute group “Cheap S. Kate” to post your savings questions!)

Spring Solutions for the Cheap Cleaner:

WINDOW CLEANER
1/2 teaspoon of Dawn
3 tablespoons of vinegar
2 cups of water

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Squirt of dawn
2 cups hot water

(This is fantastic solution to use on just about anything, but do not use any vinegar-based solutions on marble. It will stain it. The one below works wonderfully on my marble countertops.)

MARBLE CLEANER
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon of hydrogen peroxide

FURNITURE POLISH
1/2 teaspoon of mineral oil
1/4 cup of vinegar
Add a squeeze of lemon or orange

BATH TUB SCRUB
This makes a creamy scrub and is far less noxious than what is on the market.
1/2 cup of baking soda
big squirt of liquid detergent

Add some water sponge scrub in tub, rinse and wipe down

TOILET BOWL CLEANER
1/4 cup baking soda
1 cup vinegar

Put in bowl in order listed above. Let foam for three minutes and then scrub with a toilet brush and then flush.

MICROWAVE CLEAN-UP
Cut one lemon in half. Microwave on high for 2 minutes on a paper plate. Take lemon out. (Careful, it will be scorching.) Wipe down. This is great for splatter stains and getting that popcorn smell out.

Be sure to check out Cheap S. Kate’s blog and send her your questions via forum.

Here are a few more recipes from Annie B. Bond’s “How to Make a Non-Toxic Cleaning Kit:”

OVEN CLEANER
1 cup or more baking soda
Water
A squirt or two of liquid detergent

Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface is totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn’t work for you it is probably because you didn’t use enough baking soda and/or water.

VINEGAR DEODORIZER
Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board and in your bathroom and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don’t even rinse but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.


Make Good Use of Everyday Items
REUSE SPONGES
Use one of the following techniques to disinfect sponges so they can be used again:
1. Place damp sponges/cloths in microwave and cook for 1 min (they MUST be wet or they could catch on fire).
2. Soak sponges for 5 min in a dishpan containing a solution of 1 c. liquid chlorine bleach and 1 gallon water. Rinse with clean water and hang them to dry.
3. Put sponges and dishcloths through the washing machine on the hot water cycle
4. Put sponges and dishcloths in the dishwasher with a load of dishes.

(From Donna Smallin’s book p. 89)

BAKING SODA—Use it to Clean Everything!
As you’ve seen in the recipes above, baking soda has a plethora of cleaning uses, and for $1 a box, why not see what it has to offer? Go to www.armhammer.com and click on “visit our neighborhood” for a room-by-room guide to using baking soda to clean, deodorize and scrub. Baking Soda can be used to clean everything from the garage to the nursery.

VINEGAR—A Multipurpose Cleaning Product
Who would have thought Vinegar could have enough uses to warrant its own institute? Go to www.versatilevinegar.org for a huge list of ways to use vinegar as a cleaning product in your home. This site will give you tons of great ideas.

HOUSE PLANTS
Don’t forget to clean your home’s air! Give rooms a regular airing out by opening windows and turning off the heat for a couple of hours. The Sunshine Cleaning Service blog recommends removing indoor air pollutants with houseplants such as chrysanthemums, English ivy, spider plants, and Boston ferns.


Good Luck on your Spring Cleaning! Remember, organization in one area of your life can lead to more order and control in other areas of your life—namely your finances!