7 Genius Ways to Save Money on Gas

With high gas prices these days, everyone needs a few genius ways to save money on gas.

Sure, travel season may be winding down, but that doesn’t mean saving money on gas needs to stop. With our daily commuting or just running errands, our vehicles can use up a lot of gas. If you include running kids to school and activities after school now that fall is here, you may find yourself using more gas than you did this summer. Here are some genius ways to save money on gas to start using today.

7 Genius Ways to Save Money on Gas

Check out Gas Buddy – Gas Buddy is an app and website that is user generated and allows other drivers to put in gas prices for local gas stations then helps you find the lowest prices in your area or the area you will be in when you want to fill up. The prices change throughout the day, so make sure to check back if you won’t be filling up right away. This is one of the best places to go to find those ‘gas price wars’ that sometimes happen between stations for a few hours. Gas Buddy is good for both the US and Canada. For more ways to save money on gas using apps, here is an article with 5 apps that help you save money on gas.

Sign up for gas station loyalty cards – many gas stations offer their own loyalty programs now that don’t have to be through a credit card anymore. One that 76 Stations offers is particularly useful to us, personally. It uses any purchase you make (excluding a few items prohibited by law such as alcohol or cigarette purchases) to turn them into loyalty points. Each 100 points is a dollar that can be spent on anything, including fuel. We like to let this add up and take some of the cost of buying gas down.

Fill up on Mondays or Tuesdays – Gas prices tend to increase mid week for the weekend when most people fill up (particularly on Fridays when most people get paid), so if you want to get the best prices, try filling up on Mondays or Tuesdays before they go up again.

Be extra fuel efficient – You probably already know some tricks for driving more fuel efficient, but here are some more to try out. When filling up at the pump, turn the nozzle upside down before taking it out of your car. You can get that extra ½ cup of gas you paid for that is usually stuck in the tubes. Aso, try using overdrive on the highway if you have it. It lets your car run at lower RPMs and saves you gas. One word of caution though; check your owner’s manual to make sure you don’t exceed the recommended speed.

Go to another state to fill up if it’s an option – I live practically on the border of two states and this allows me to go to another state to get gas when it’s convenient or I will be in that area. Because gas prices are often determined by state tax rates on it, you can save a lot by doing it this way if it makes sense to do so. I regularly save 20-30 cents per gallon!

Get gas where you get groceries – Many grocery stores such as Costco, Safeway, and Fred Meyer offer their own gas stations and other stores partner with gas station chains to offer savings at the pump. Sign up for a loyalty card and you can use it to save money on gas, up to $1 per gallon in most cases.

Purchase discounted gas gift cards – One way to get gas for much cheaper is to buy gift cards at a discount and use them to make your purchases. Even if all you do is save 5-10% off these gift cards, it’s still money you didn’t spend, right? Check out these other tips on buying discount gift cards to save on your monthly bills for more ways to save with this technique.