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Tips for Saving Money on Gas

Guest Blogger May 16, 2025

By Lauralynn Schueckler

When the cost of gas goes up, lots of people have to make budget cuts and eliminate non-necessities from their lives.

However, for many people, gas is one necessity that can’t be cut out. After all, without it you might not be able to get to work and earn money, get to the doctor’s office or pick up the kids from school.

It’s no surprise then, that drivers look for ways to save money every time gas prices go up. If you’re one of many drivers hoping to cut down on the cost of refueling, here are a few strategies that can help!

1. Reduce A/C use

There’s no doubt it can get hot in the summer, and the convenience of air conditioning (A/C) is hard to pass up.

In some extra-hot locations, A/C is a necessity during the summer. But if you’re in a milder climate, skipping the A/C is one option that could help you save money, since your car’s air conditioner makes the motor work harder and use more gas to perform. If you’re planning a road trip for your summer vacation, you might want to take the climate at your destination in mind so you can potentially skip the A/C.

2. Properly inflate tires

Inflating your tires to the proper PSI will improve your gas mileage. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, it improves by an average of 0.6%, but for some cars the savings are as high as 3%.

What PSI should your tires be? It depends on the car. You can refer to your owner’s manual for the proper tire pressure in each of the tires. Then, inflate or deflate the tires accordingly, to assure the best mileage and savings on gas.

3. Use Direct Routes

Cutting out back roads and streets with lots of stop signs can help you use less gas. Why this helpful? Because braking and accelerating at intersections and stop signs uses up a lot of gas, and you don’t have to do much of that on freeways or even on some high-traffic roads.

So to save gas, find the most direct and continuous path from point A to point B, and then follow it. And when you brake and accelerate, get in the habit of doing it slowly, since slowing down can improve your fuel economy by as much as 40%. 

4. Rewards cards

If you have a credit card that gives you rewards when you buy gas, be sure to use it strategically. It’s not a good idea to use these cards if they tempt you to overspend, or if you have trouble paying off your debt each month.

But if you’re able to use a credit card responsibly and pay off the full balance each month, a gas rewards card can help. These cards offset your gas costs by giving you cash back or points when you spend money at the pump.

Just make sure to read the card’s terms and conditions to ensure you’re using it in an optimal way. For example, check and see which gas stations you have to use in order to earn rewards for your spending, and find out if there are any caps on your cash-back rewards. 

5. Tune Up and Maintenance

Keeping up the maintenance on a vehicle is essential to the gas mileage. Keeping up with the the following maintenance will help you visit the gas station less often:

  • Oil changes
  • Replacing clogged air filters
  • Regular tune ups

When a vehicle is running at the optimum performance level, the engine doesn’t have to work so hard to function and the car uses less gas.

6. Shop online

Shopping online from the comfort of your own home can save you both time and money.

With online shopping, you don’t have to use gas to get around town or worry about tolls or parking meters. Plus, you have the advantage of being able to compare and track prices and find the best deals on everything from big-ticket items to cleaning products.

Just make sure you figure in the cost of shipping when you’re comparing costs for online shopping. To save money, opt for longer shipping timelines. You might also want to hold off until you need to buy enough items to qualify for free shipping. 

7. Eco-friendly cars

Buying a new car just to save money on gas can be a bad call, since the purchase may cost a lot more money than you end up saving on gas. But if you’re already in the market for your next car, consider looking at hybrid or fully electric vehicle (EV).

Depending on the cost of gas and the type of charger you use, driving an EV could cut your fuel costs in half. To save even more money, consider purchasing a PHEV or EV that’s a few years old. When you go that route, you can significantly reduce the purchase price. As an added bonus, some used EVs and FCVs qualify for tax credits.

Lauralynn Schueckler is the Online Marketing Specialist at Advantage Credit Counseling Service. She is the author for Advantage CCS’s Blog called Dollars & Sense. Advantage Credit Counseling Service is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. Contact Advantage Credit Counseling at 866.699.2227, or visit them online at www.advantageccs.org.

Views expressed are the personal views of the author, and do not represent the views of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, its employees, its members, or its clients.

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