Gas Boycott a Joke

Saving Money During a Gas Price Hike

Many folk today are calling for a boycott of the gasoline stations, to try to "punish" the oil companies for raising our fuel prices a dollar from the nice low figure of $2.00 a gallon five months ago. There are so many reasons that such a boycott is a bit short-sighted and will just not work......and you will hear many of those reasons explained today by economic experts.

Once again, this observer will offer another list of things that one can do to save money while gas companies and local gas stations keep raising prices at the pump on almost a daily basis. One should keep in mind that we cannot hurt the oil companies, but we can help ourselves.

The vehicle itself:
1) Drive an economy model that gets the best fuel mileage, if you have such a vehicle in the garage. Otherwise, consider buying one.
2) Park your big SUV or large pickup or heavy van, if you do not need them for work, recreation or moving large objects.
3) Always make sure that you have tires inflated high enough to get low rolling resistance, and check to see that tires are not worn out.
4) See that your vehicle is well-tuned, with fresh oil, clean air filter, and not clogged in the fuel delivery systems & spark plugs.
5) Drive slowly! If you barrel along at 75-80 mph, you are wasting 20% more fuel than if you go 60-65 mph.
6) Don't do jack-rabbit starts from stop light to stop light. That's hard on engine, transmission, tires, and eventually, your brake systems.
7) You don't need to be pressured into buying a hybrid vehicle, unless you also are capable of buying $20,000+ replacement battery systems!
8) Watch out for being tempted to buy new vehicles that require Premium fuel, as that will cost you easily 10% more every fillup.
9) Vehicle weight affects fuel mileage. You might be surprised to note that some 2-seat sports cars weigh as much as 4000 pounds (the same as a lightweight small sport utiltiy). Compact sedans and coupes made back in the '60s and early '90s were featherweight 2500 pounds.
10) Make sure that you take out thiose heavy sandbags from the back of the pickup, the extra golf clubs in the trunk, or loads of books/magazines, etc. that might be adding weight to your vehicle.
11) Those high-end sound systems that Junior has mounted in the trunk & back seat might be ading 500 pounds to a car's weight, as they also slowly produce major hearing loss for driver, passengers & neighbors.
12) You do know that those ski and bike racks mounted on the roof of your vehicle take away about 2 mpg from your fuel mileage, don't you?

Other cost saving considerations:
13) If you buy fuel at a gas station, just buy the amount of gasoline you need for the next 4-5 days. Don't spend $80 to fill up a pickup truck all at once, so you'll be forced to be more frugal with what's in the tank.
14) Definitely, do not buy anything else at a gas station!!!
15) All food in there costs 50-100% more than it does at a discount grocery store.
16) Any oil, washer fluid, wipers, fuel additives likewise have a big markup there.
17) If you smoke, don't go inside to buy cigarettes; you can add years to your life!
18) If you tend to gamble, don't waste your money on lottery tickets. Keep food on your family's table, instead of worthless lottery ticket stubs.
19) Please don't buy alcohol at a gas station. Gasoline and liquor are not a good mix anyway.
20) Don't throw your money away at gas station car washes. Most of the time they do not do a good job, while you need the exercise at home anyway.
21) If your car suggests "Premium Fuel only" you might try buying Mid-Grade Fuel for a tankful or so. Mechanics have stated that many cars can do fine on this.
22) Can you ride a bike somewhere instead of having to drive a gas-guzzler?
23) Also, do some walking, especially from one stop closeby another.
24) Plan ahead all your travel ventures, so as to prolong the life of your vehicle, and to preserve your own sanity.
25) If you can wisely do such, try to get all your shopping done on one day a week, and thus avoid a lot of impulse buying.

Best of luck in all this.

Torrey Brinkley
Mead, CO