Of the many routine expenses that you incur for work and leisure, you could find fuel to pull especially heavily on your finances. However, there are various little things that you can do to trim the cost. Absorb all of this advice and you could be pleasantly surprised at the size of the savings that you can make when you put it all into action.
Combine more of your errands into a single trip
This advice from The Telegraph takes account of the fact that, after a few hours of a car being parked, this vehicle will use a lot more fuel than usual for the first few miles. Therefore, whatever your daily errands, try to include more of them in a single major trip. You could, for example, avoid separate trips for your weekly shopping and to purchase one newspaper.
Keep the windows closed
When you drive, can you hear wind noise due to having decided to keep the vehicle’s windows open? This noise is a sign of ‘drag’ that is putting pressure on your car which then needs more fuel as a result. If you are too hot in the vehicle, use the air-conditioning rather than open the window.
Shift unnecessary weight that your car is carrying
The heavier the weight it has to transport, the more fuel you car will need. So, avoid keeping lots of items, especially relatively heavy items such as golf clubs and rucksacks, in your car’s boot unless it is strictly necessary. You could also remove the ski box or roof rack if your car has either.
Resist pushing the accelerator down overly far
If you have reached a high gear but are seriously depressing the accelerator to avoid shifting down a gear, this would actually necessitate more, not less, fuel usage. Deciding which gear you should be in will be easier if your vehicle features an automatic gearbox, however.
Switch off the air-conditioning when you aren’t too hot
You might be tempted to keep your air-conditioning switched on right through the year. However, doing this could mean that you are using more fuel than you need to. Therefore, leave it off as a general rule – and turn it on only when the vehicle is excessively hot.
Obey the speed limit
By ignoring the law and taking yourself beyond the speed limit, you could trim some time from your journey. However, if you completed a 200-mile trip in 20 minutes less than usual due to having progressed at 80mph rather than 70mph, there would remain a false economy. This is because the car would still use a lot more fuel in the process.
Be careful where you source fuel from
It’d be wise to buy fuel from somewhere you can access easily and quickly, therefore preventing you needing to use up a lot of fuel simply to travel there. Look closely at different suppliers’ delivery policies. In the UK, New Era Fuels allows different types of fuel, including white diesel, to be obtained through an out-of-hours delivery service.