15 Fuel Conserving Tips to Help Save Money With Soaring Fuel Prices

With fuel prices on the rise, it's wise to implement simple money saving tips to help conserve fuel when driving and to offset the soaring gas prices, such as these:

1. Keep tires properly inflated, having tires 2 PSI below optimal pressure increases fuel consumption by one percent.

2. Keep your car regularly maintained. Inspect and change car filters as clogged air and oil filters waste gas.

3. Avoid overloading your trunk and pack lightly on trips.

4. Avoid high speeds driving 20 km over 100 km a hour consumes 15% more fuel.

5. Plan all your trips for the week or day to avoid wasting unnecessary fuel by back tracking.

6. Consider car pooling to work with other co-workers.

7. Avoid idling your car for a long time long. Idling burns more fuel than restarting your car.

8. When driving on the highway keep windows closed too avoid drag. Open windows can increase fuel consumption by 10 percent. This is when air conditioning becomes most economical.

9. Do not accelerate or brake hard.

10. Use your air conditioning sparingly.

11. Use cruise control if available on flat roads but on hills it is much more economical to supply more power as the car requires, letting the momentum of the car do the work as much as possible. It takes some practice but it's easier on the fuel tank overall.

12. Avoid bumper riders, especially on long trips where fuel consumption is high as it is. If you have someone tailing you too close, they're probably using your fuel and coasting in your wind tunnel. Slow down, put your hazards on and let them pass. Don't let them burn up all your fuel.

13. In the wintertime, clear ALL of the snow off your car, not just off your windows. The extra weight of the snow adds to the cost of fuel consumption.

14. Don't add drag by carrying a load on your roof. It can significantly reduce your fuel mileage.

15. Walk where you can or ride a bike to destinations close by without using your car.

Rewards Programs For Fueling

1. If you shop at Refuel stations (part of No Frills grocery stores) save your receipts and then present them when you shop at No Frills to save a little off your grocery bill for each receipt presented.

2. Also if you like to shop at Canadian Tire fuel stations, then make sure you utilize the BONUS coupon on the flyer to get extra Canadian Tire Money! Lots of times you can earn up to 10X the CTC money. Plus once you save up $25 in CTC money, bring it to the store and purchase a gift card with it and then use it to purchase your fuel.

3. Use your Aeroplan card at Esso stations to get bonus points with each fill up. Plus you can get Esso Extra points too!

4. Some credit cards like Canadian Tire and Petro Canada offer 10 cents off per litre or other discounts.

5. Costco members save 10 cents per litre at Costco gas stations.

6. Pioneer has a Pioneer Bucks Card to get reward "bucks," save it up and you can use it towards gas purchases.

(Thanks to the members of Freebies Deals And Rewards)

Frugal Tip: Reviving Dried Out Dry Erase Markers

How to Revive Dried Out Dry Erase Markers ~ Your whiteboard markers may still have more life in them!!

Tip #1

Dip the tip of the marker into in a little rubbing alcohol. If color is drawn down into the alcohol, there's life in your marker, and you can write with it more, now that you have treated it. If this does not work, then the marker is probably out of lasting power.

Tip #2

Just use a pair of pliers to remove the tip and turn it around. You are good for another round of use. You can even turn the tip back around later and the old dried out tip may be good once again.

Tip #3

Use plain old gravity to bring the ink to the tip bu turning the marker onto it's lid in a cup or something similar. After a couple of days you can check if the ink has flowed down to the tip.

Tip #4

Tie a string around the marker and swing it around to encourage the ink to flow down to the tip.


A good way to think when living a frugal lifestyle is there's more life or use out of the things that seem to be empty or finished! Explore how you can get more!

Control Your Phantom Power Usage

A big way to save on your hydro consumption is to watch your phantom power consumption. What is phantom power? The drawing of power off your grid by electronic components that are not in use but yet still plugged in. There are many culprits which draw phantom power, including but not limited to:

• Digital photo frames
• Televisions
• Set-top boxes for your digital tv
• DVD players and recorders
• Computer speakers
• Printers (especially laser)
• Stereos and Home Theatre Components
• Video game consoles

One way to combat phantom power is to unplug electronics that are not in use. Another way is to put these items on a power bar and simply flick the switch when you are done. It's advisable to check the operating manuals on your equipment regarding unplugging or turning off to see if it affects your setup. The biggest downfall for me is resetting time displays when turning equipment off and on to use but other than that the savings add up over time! 

Some households have reported a savings of 10% when they reduced their phantom power consumption. Can you do better on your hydro bill? We want to know what you do about phantom power!

Tit For Tat: Bartering For Goods And Services

Bartering was once the main form of currency and now it's not utilized nearly as frequently as it once was. However as we see downturns in the economy, people tend to look back to more frugal ways of living. Bartering is a great way to trade products and services with one another while leaving the pocketbook unscathed.

Think outside of the box! What can you offer in return for what you need or want? Do you have a skill or specialty you can provide in exchange for goods and/or services?

Examples of bartering:

~ Bartering starts in our childhood years; you'll see it in the lunchroom as two kids exchange sandwiches or snacks from their lunchboxes
~ Wheat farmers cannot live on bread alone, but could trade surplus to local cattle farmers for meat
~ Let's get more relevant to saving money...coupon trading is one of the most popular forms of bartering these days

Bartering is only limited to your imagination, skills, your offerings and the ability to find another person who needs what you can offer plus have something that you want in return.

IMPORTANT!! If you decide to swap services like babysitting and pet walking, make sure that you have agreed upon an upfront monetary value for your service so your swapping will be fair and equal. Swapping services is often harder than swapping real goods because you really need to know what the going price is for the service you're offering.

We love to hear from our readers, tell us if you've ever bartered before. What was your bartering arrangement?