According to the U.S. Department of Energy, poor driving habits alone—aggressive speeding, braking, and rapid acceleration—can lower your gas mileage by roughly 15 to 30 percent at highway speeds and 10 to 40 percent in stop-and-go traffic. Here are eight things you can do to save money at the pump, both during times of peak gas prices and everyday. “These habits require patience and budgeting of your time to arrive a little later than normal,” says Montoya. He adds that these choices may only contribute to an increase of a couple miles per gallon, “but altogether they could add up to a significant difference.” For oil changes, it’s important that you follow your manufacturer’s recommended intervals, rather than the sticker in your windshield, or the interval that you used on your last vehicle. You can find the maintenance schedule inside your owners manual—where you can also find specific recommendations for the type of oil to use. The manufacturer designed the manual specifically for the year, make, and model of your vehicle, and its specific requirements—so following this will ensure that you’re making the right choices for your car. “Keeping your tires at the recommended tire pressure not only helps improve fuel economy but is also safer and helps prolong [your tires’] lifespan,” says Montoya. Proper tire pressure also helps prevent premature and uneven tire wear. While tire pressure sensors are helpful, they aren’t always enough to rely on entirely. To get all the benefits of properly inflated tires, check and adjust your tire pressure once a month if you have tire pressure sensors that work, or twice a month if you don’t have sensors, or they aren’t working. If you’re headed on a road trip, you can also plan your fuel stop to optimize for the best prices. For example, when I’m driving from Milwaukee to Chicago, my goal is to fill up in the Racine Kenosha area in Wisconsin, since gas costs more as soon as you cross the Illinois border. To identify the lowest gas prices near you, Google Maps and Waze both have pricing information built in, and there are other apps that are specialized for this purpose as well. GasBuddy is one of the more popular apps, but Wirecutter reports privacy concerns, so do your due diligence before downloading it.
