We are looking at our everyday expenses with a fine tooth comb. One item that we have changed lately is how we buy gasoline. I got very used to spending my points at Top’s to buy gas. When I was doing a lot of shopping, they really added up. Now that I have cut way back on grocery purchases, I am not earning that many points. I was filling up the last couple of months at $ 3.55 a gallon. Then I noticed that my High Quality Station was $ 3.19 a gallon. This is a cash only station so that is where I have been filling up lately. They seem to be much cheaper than everyone else in my area. Plus they are just around the corner. I go by them almost anytime that I go out. Matter of fact, the next time I go out I will fill up there. We have been trying to get the gas tank down as low as possible to fill up at that price.
I can get a discount on gasoline with my Walmart+ also but the stations they use are farther away from me and are more expensive per gallon. I also can get a discount at B.J.’s Warehouse Club but I go there rarely. But if my tank is low and the price is lower than my cash station, I would fill up while shopping there.
There are also a number of apps that you can use to save on gas like Gas Buddy and Upside. Upside does not have many stations in my area. But I will be researching Gas Buddy next week. Right now, I have too much on my plate.
I know that some people are close enough to state lines to be able to fill up in a state that is cheaper on both gasoline and the state taxes. If you travel that direction for any reason, fill up while you are there. Here the closest state is PA. It is 2 hours from me. Their gasoline is higher than I am paying here.
We also run our errands in a loop and have for over 50 years. We try to do everything in one to two days a week. We strive for one but that isn’t always possible with medical and dental appointments.
Hubby takes the car to a local garage for oil changes, fluids, filters and brakes when needed and he puts air in the tires. That helps us get better gas mileage.
I wash our car at home in the nice weather. In the cold and snowy weather, I go to a car wash that gives us one reward ticket every time we go there. When we have 5 tickets we redeem them for a free car wash. I have two right now. But before the winter is over, we will get a free wash. It is a bonus that it is right near my grocery stores.
I clean and vacuum our car myself. Since I do it every couple of weeks, it stays nice and clean. Whenever I use the car, I take any grocery lists or other things that may have accumulated during my trip out of the car and dispose of them immediately. Clutter drives me nuts!
We have always checked prices for car insurance every year. Most insurance companies raise your rate every year. And it is not a little increase even if you have had no accidents or tickets. The last time this happened to us, we went to an insurance agency to see if they could find us a better deal. I knew they handled many insurance companies because years ago I worked for an agency. They found us a company headquartered here in NY. They raise our insurance every year but it is a fraction of what other companies have raised it. We are very happy with them.
Here in NY, we can get a 10% discount on our car insurance by taking an online driver safety course. The discount is good for 3 years and you can renew it every three years. The cost of the online course is much less than the discount you get over those 3 years.
We drive the speed limit and don’t gun the car from a stop.
We buy new cars but we keep them for years. The one we have now is almost 12 years old. We pay cash when we buy one. If we ever need another one, we will have our children find us a couple year old car. Since the cars depreciate, they always buy their’s a couple of years old. I trust their judgement.
That is all I can think of right now. If you have any other way that you save on gasoline and insurance or any other way you save on your car, please feel free to leave a suggestion.
2 replies on “What We Have Been Doing To Save More Money”
Precious, this was great! My tip is one you alluded to in your post. See if you can go down to one car. You encouraged us to do this when Hubby retired at the beginning of the year and we did it. So far it is working out ok.
Hi Chris,
That has been on of the best for us. We have been down to one car since 2001 and it has saved us so much money. We try to book our appointments together. We figured that if we need a second car for any reason, we can rent one for what ever the conflict is. That is so much cheaper than maintaining two cars and insurance on the 2nd, Thanks for reminding me.