www.nhindymedia.org

With fuel prices steadily on the rise, many commuters are finding it more and more difficult to justify spending their hard earned cash on the high cost of fuel rather than other necessities, including food and electricity. With that in mind, there are five simple steps that you can take to help stretch your dollar a little bit farther when it comes to your vehicle’s fuel consumption.

vehiclepool. If you have children who are in school, consider sharing the driving responsibility with other mothers that live nearby. This is especially helpful if you can alternate days. Perhaps you would drive the children on Monday and Wednesday, while the other women fill in on the rest of the weekdays. This will salvage you cash on fuel and will also make the children’s ride to school a lot of fun because they will be riding with friends. The same is true of commuters on their method to work, who can share in the responsibility and costs of driving amongst one another.

Buy a smaller vehicle. If you own an SUV or other large vehicle, your gas mileage per gallon will be less than if you were to own a smaller vehicle. As a general rule, larger vehicles just normally use more fuel. If you want to salvage cash on the cost of fuel, buying a smaller vehicle is a good start.

Purchase a hybrid vehicle. These vehicles are fairly new on the market and are still quite expensive, but many find the benefits outweigh the high cost when they figure in their savings on fuel. Hybrid vehicles usually get better gas mileage per gallon and this results in big savings for the owner.

Turn off the ignition. If you are stuck in traffic that is moving about an inch per minute, then just put the vehicle in park and turn the ignition off. While sitting in traffic, you are just using more and more fuel and aren’t really getting anywhere. Rather than waste, try to salvage cash by not leaving your vehicle running in parking lots or your drivemethod. If you need to stop by the store and will just be gone for a minute, take the time to turn the ignition off. In addition to saving on fuel, you will be ensuring that your vehicle isn’t stolen by turning off the ignition and taking your keys inside the store with you. Many people would be surprised to know how many shoppers actually leave their vehicle running while in the store.

Walk. If you live near a store, walk instead of driving. This will salvage not only in the price of your vehicle’s fuel, but also in the general everyday wear and tear that your vehicle receives by being out on the road. No to mention, walking is good exercise and is generally safe for most people. So why not walk off some of those pesky winter pounds and salvage some cash on fuel in the process.

The aforementioned methods are five of the most popular to help you salvage some extra cash where fuel is concerned. Some of the more obvious methods are to stock up when fuel is decreasing in price. If you get $10 or $15 worth of fuel every few days, you may get a good price one day and a terrible cost per gallon during the next trip. However, if you fill up your vehicle’s fuel tank while prices are still low, you will be sure to get the best deal possible. Not only that, but you may also end up saving some time at the gas pump when all of the other consumers are waiting in line to fill up before the prices go even higher.