Can you save by driving around to look for cheaper gas?
Soaring prices are driving people to actively search for cheaper gasoline. How far would you go to save a few cents per gallon?
A recent survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores shows most people would drive 5 minutes to save 5 cents a gallon. More than a third would drive 10 minutes to save 10 cents a gallon.
But is that drive really saving you money or are you spending more in gas to get there?
"Driving around aimlessly is a complete waste of time and money," says Greg Laskoski of GasBuddy.com. His advice: find the cheapest gas you can along your daily commute.
Gas Buddy has a fuel calculator that tells you if that extra drive for cheaper gas saves money or not.
By punching in the numbers, I found that driving 10 miles to save 10 cents a gallon ($3.79 instead of $3.89) would cost me 45 cents more for that fill-up. Driving a mile to save 2 cents a gallon would only save me 11 cents. That’s hardly worth it.
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Are you wasting money looking for cheaper gas?
A recent survey by the National Association of Convenience Stores shows most people would drive 5 minutes to save 5 cents a gallon. More than a third would drive 10 minutes to save 10 cents a gallon.
But is that drive really saving you money or are you spending more in gas to get there?
"Driving around aimlessly is a complete waste of time and money," says Greg Laskoski of GasBuddy.com. His advice: find the cheapest gas you can along your daily commute.
Gas Buddy has a fuel calculator that tells you if that extra drive for cheaper gas saves money or not.
By punching in the numbers, I found that driving 10 miles to save 10 cents a gallon ($3.79 instead of $3.89) would cost me 45 cents more for that fill-up. Driving a mile to save 2 cents a gallon would only save me 11 cents. That’s hardly worth it.
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More Info:
Are you wasting money looking for cheaper gas?
Especially if you have smaller car, my subaru only takes 10gal unless it's below E, finding gas 5 cents cheaper would only save 50 cents. 37.20 and 37.80 isnt much different.
I have noticed while driving that cities like Bellevue, Kirkland and Issaquah have higher prices for gas compared to Renton, Tukwila and Federal Way.Â
Simply change your planned route to reach the better priced locations, but don't deviate so far as to add pointless miles (ie, having to double-back). The Gasbuddy smartphone app will show you the price range nearby, and if you figure it out before you start driving, you can plan. Sometime there is a great deal of savings to be had with only a minor change to travel plans to make the station a part of the trip. On a 25 gallon diesel fill-up, it DOES matter!!
Also, it really helps if you contribute to gasbuddy by accurately posting the numbers at stations you pass by.