Fuel
• Schedule regular tune-ups and maintenance checks for your vehicle. A well-tuned car
and fresh fluids will save on gas and increase your car’s overall efficiency.
• Make sure all tires are inflated properly. Not only will you save on gas but you will also
extend the life of your tires.
• Try not to fill your tank to the top. Excess gas may just spill out of the tank causing you
to end up wasting your money.
• Make sure you gas tank cap fits properly. Over time the seal can deteriorate and cause
gas to evaporate out of the tank. Replace an old cap with one that fits more securely.
• In warm weather, only use the air conditioning when on a highway. When you’re in
stop and go traffic, open your windows to save on fuel consumption — that is, if you
can handle the heat. Some hot days are pretty brutal, so this recommendation may be
harder to follow.
• In cold weather, your car only needs to warm up for a few minutes before being ready
to hit the road. Leaving the car running any longer than that would just be wasting you
gas.
• Keep your trunk clean and free of unnecessary items that weigh down your car to
improve your gas mileage. While basic emergency items are fine, anything else could
increase your gas consumption unnecessarily.
• Use overdrive gears and cruise control when appropriate. They improve the fuel
economy of your car when you’re driving on a highway.
• Stay within posted speed limits. Gas mileage decreases rapidly at speeds above 60
miles per hour.
• Stop aggressive driving. You can improve your gas mileage up to five percent around
town if you avoid “jackrabbit” starts and stops by anticipating traffic conditions and
driving gently.
• Check the web for deals. Use the Internet to find the cheapest gas near you. Some of
these sites even offer text messaging capabilities, where they will send you the a text
message with the location of the cheapest gas in your area. Here are three websites:
GasPricesRelief.com, GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com.
• Carpool if possible - If two people are riding in a car, the gas used per person is
immediately cut into half. If 4 people are sharing a ride, their individual gas bill
becomes only one third
Grocery Shopping
• Use a list for grocery store shopping and do not buy unnecessary items. Disposable
items like spoons, plastic knives, plastic cups, paper plates are such a waste of money.
Instead you should use permanent items that you can wash and reuse. This will save
you money and more importantly it is good for the
• Do not go to the grocery store when you are hungry, tired or stressed out. Grocery
shopping when you are hungry is the worst time and you are most inclined to buy
anything that is edible.
• Buy frozen veggies. While fresh veggies are a little better, frozen veggies are almost as
good, and much better than nothing. And since you can keep them in the freezer, they
rarely go bad.
• Pick products on the top and bottom shelves: You'll find larger sizes and less expensive
items stocked here.
• Buy store brands: Don't be fooled by those fancy name-brand labels. Store brands are
generally cheaper and have the same quality as the name brand.
• Download coupons: The coupon is making a comeback in a digital way.
Check out sites such as www.coupons.com or www.mygrocerydeals.com for weekly
coupons.
• Join a warehouse club: Businesses like Costco and Sam's Club allow you to get a whole
lot for your buck. Buy staple items and dry goods in bulk and save the grocery store for
perishables.
• Use store savings cards. These can add up to big savings over the long run.
Cut back on your restaurant eating. It’s never cheaper or more nutritious than eating at
home. Plan your dinners (see above tip) and bring your lunches to work and save a ton
of money.
• Drink water. If you regularly drink iced tea, sodas or other types of drinks, cut
those out completely and just drink water. It’s much better for you, and much cheaper.
• Cut back on meat. Meat is expensive. We have vegetarian meals several times a week
(think pasta or chili) and for other meals, you could just use a little meat as a kind of
seasoning instead of the main ingredient — think Asian, Indian and other such cultural
food. Actually, I eat vegetarian all the time, but the wife and kids do a little of each
• Cook a lot, then freeze. Alternatively, you can cook a whole mess of spaghetti (for
example) and freeze it for multiple dinners. A great idea is to use one Sunday and cook
a week’s (or even a month’s) worth of dinners. Plan 5-6 freezable dinners and cook
them all at once.
Utilities
• Contact your utility company to see if they offer reduced rates at certain times of the
day and either timer-delay your washer/dishwasher or wait until that time to do your
loads.
• At night, in the winter time, turn down your home thermostat 1 to 5 degrees lower than
your daytime setting. Sleep in long pajamas or add extra blankets to your beds. Not
only will this help lower your heating costs, cooler air also helps you sleep more
comfortably. Keep doors closed to the rooms you don’t use regularly during the day.
• Wash clothes in cold water whenever possible. Make sure the washer and dryer are full
to conserve energy.
• Use only half the amount of laundry soap recommended by the manufacturer. The
reason they have those little cups in the laundry soap is so you will fill them up and run
out of soap faster. And don't be worried about no suds. Suds do not get clothes clean.
They are there only for show to make you think the soap is doing a great job.
Chemicals in the soap do the actual cleaning, not the bubbles.
• The dryer will use less energy if you dry loads of clothing one after another because the
dryer will already be hot. What an easy way to save money and get your laundry done
more quickly.
• Clean the lint filter on your dryer after each use. This keeps your dryer working
properly
• When doing laundry, dry clothes on the line or hang them instead of using the dryer.
• When not watching television make sure that you keep it off. This is the number one
electricity waster in the world.
• Use low-wattage light bulbs or energy efficient fluorescent lighting. Compact
fluorescents typically last ten times longer and they use 75% less electricity
• Shut vents in unused rooms. This isn’t advisable if you have forced air heating, but
shutting vents in unused rooms can save on your heating and cooling bill
• If you are a man, shaves using one cup of water
• Check your hot water heater and make sure it is not set too high. About 110 to 120
degrees should be plenty.
• Shorten your showers. Even a one or two minute reduction can save up to 700 gallons
per month
Get your books from the library. I love books and read every day. While I buy some of the books I read, most come from the library. Simply put, it’s hard to beat free.
Get DVDs from the library. Many libraries now have movies on DVD that can be checked out. If your library offers this service, it sure beats paying Blockbuster or Netflix.
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