Cooler and fridge space on trips.

When you are traveling, pack a small cooler to travel with you. Place in it some fresh fruits and vegetables, deli cheeses, meats, and beverages or bottles of filtered water. By keeping these fresh foods available while driving, you can keep yourself safe and focused by not being hungry. You can also avoid fast food black holes that are bound to suck you in otherwise. By making sure your accommodations have at least ice if not a small fridge, you can place your food in overnight to keep it better longer. Be cautious of what to include considering the temperature of your cooler may not be food safe for some foods after a long drive.

Enjoy a stay-cation and spend travel FUNds on the fun.

There is no rule that your vacation days must be spent away from home. There is no rule that your kids must go on a vacation to some super fantastic great and expensive place. Enjoy a stay-cation at home. Invest the funds you would have spent traveling on family fun, entertainment, and tools that will be around for longer than just the weekend. Buy an Xbox or a PlayStation and a really special game. Plan a day at a local fun shop instead of going far, far away, maybe go-carts, putt-putt, or even just pizza. Ask members of the family in advance what they would like to do.

Grocery hopping or avoid needless trips.

If getting one item at a different store saves you 50 cents... what does the drive cost you? There is a calculation to consider if the 50 cents per 5 minutes for the purchase is a worthwhile purchase but the ENTIRE purchase is much more than 5 minutes when you consider the drive. 

Compile a to-do list and have an errand day.

This helps by giving you a much fuller look at the locations you need to travel to and allows you to group things more efficiently, rather than driving all over town each time an errand arises. If you decide Thursday is always your errand day, you can tell anyone who needs your time that Thursday is your errand day and plan around it from there. The other benefit is that it gives your brain four days off per week from errands. Have the willpower to only allow errands to drive you one day a week and you get the four other "business days" to yourself for what you want and need to get done.

Plan your day or week in advance to group trips together in order to save miles.

Plan your day or week in advance to group trips together in order to save miles. By pre-planning the events of your week, you can lump events on one side of town into one day and events or needs in another part of town on a completely different day. If you need a book from the bookstore which is right by the grocery store - plan to do those the same day. By looking at your weekly calendar of events, you should be able to add in the additional trips you need to make into the right slots.

Give yourself a driving zone

Give yourself a driving zone  and if you have to drive outside of "the zone" make sure you NEED to be going. If you don't need to drive - don't. If you must, plan your trip carefully to be sure you only drive as far as you need. I would suggest you consider a "driving zone." Look at your regular everyday activities on a map and consider what might be your reasonable region. Then anything you need/want to do outside of that region - THINK about it before getting in the car!

It's amazing how different life is living in Washington, D.C., compared to western Kansas. Some of the tips I discuss are going to be complete common sense to many people reading them - while other people may think they are radical concepts and nonsense! Where I grew up "the big town" was about an hour away; that's also where the Walmart was. You didn't just jump in your car and go to Walmart because you needed something; you planned, made a list, asked friends if they needed something or wanted to go, and made a BIG trip out of going to Hays (the big town). At least my family and friends did. Shopping and restaurants are 10-15 minutes away, which is pretty reasonable but driving further than that is VERY common.

Hubby for instance drives an hour both ways for work! That's a lot of money and a lot of time. (We save A LOT on housing expenses because of this however.) From the north to the south, the town we live in right now is about 30 minutes long. Our playgroup has mommies on all edges and in adjoining towns. Is it more than a 10 minute drive? Do I really want/need to go? Is there another way I can get there or something else to do today? I can go by the mechanic's shop and  also pick up a few groceries afterwards - good idea! Makes the cost of all that gas more worth it!

Fill up in the morning when the ground is the coolest and right after someone else.

There is a lot at play in this money saver. The concept is that the cooler the gasoline the denser it will be so you'll get more for your gallon. Generally the temperature underground in the tanks has little to do with the time of day and more to do with the temperature it was stored in the delivery truck and how long ago it was there.

The real difference experienced in research was that the gas in the pump box above ground was effected the most by temperature. By being the second person to use the pump, you are making sure your gas is not the day warmed gasoline at the top of the mechanical system.

Gas Buddy.

Using http://www.gasbuddy.com/ can help find a good price if you are in a market with options. Simply turn on the software and it will use the GPS locator to tell you the prices of all gas in the area. You can make your choice from real information but you do need to check the price when you get there in order to avoid disappointment on your receipt.

Fill up before your last quarter of gasoline - avoid last minute gas emergencies.

If you allow yourself to get to an emergency situation, you are at the mercy of the market for what you will pay for gasoline. Start shopping from 1/3 to 1/4 so that you can get a good price. 

Avoid gas stations with gas tankers filling it up.

It's really bad for your car to fill up when the tanker is there. It may now be more historic legend than fact but when a large tanker is pouring fluid into another tank, it is bound to stir up some stuff you don't want going into your car. Just try your best to avoid it if you can.

Make groceries pay you back by cashing in on gas rebates.

With gas prices soaring, various businesses are offering rebates on their receipts for gasoline purchases. They want your money in their store and they want your money at their affiliate gas station. Consider this amount of savings when choosing your one store shopping if you don't grocery hop to various stores. 

Carpool.

Whether to work, school, church, or fun, carpool as much as possible to save money on resources and to help the planet. Washington, D.C., has this hilarious concept called the slug lot. People pull up to the slug lot with 1 person in the vehicle, pick up a couple of travelers, and drive into town. These additional strangers qualify the vehicle to travel in the much faster high-occupancy lanes. D.C. also has a free ride home program in place in case you've come in with limited opportunities to get home and are in an emergency situation to return home (get sick midday). This helps to eliminate the qualms causing folks to avoid efficient community opportunities.

Walk short distances instead of driving.

 This is great for your health plus great for your gas tank and car's health. Stop and write down a list of places you could walk to from your home. Tape the list near your door to jog your brain when you are grabbing your keys to head out. When you are in one location, walk to the next location if it's nearby, too.

Use public transportation.

Generally the cost of getting from point A to point B on public transit is reasonable compared to the real cost. The perks of not having to drive, being able to do something else in the meantime, better time made by the transportation, and the savings on not having to have a vehicle can really make up for the expense required. Additionally there are a lot of options throughout the world for passes and special tickets that make regular use less expensive than occasional use.

Celebrate a car free day each month.

If you've said no to other ideas of public transportation or carpooling, try to make a car free day each month. Maybe you have to ask your boss to let you work from home for only one day. Maybe this will be the day you carpool or take mass transit. Maybe this will be the day you just stay home from all of life's craziness. Maybe this is the day you'll walk or bike. Celebrate your freedom to make choices and the power you are taking over your budget.

Ask about all discounts. Carry multiple policies with one company if the price is right.

 Be sure to speak with your insurance agents about discounts that you COULD get. If you carry two policies with the same company you get an additional X% off both premiums. This could really make the deal better. Need a report card for an honor roll student? Just ask what the discounts are.

Is your insurance coverage right for your car's age?

Many people were raised to be full coverage or liability only folks. When should you have which? You don't WANT to have to pay to replace your car but if the value to total the vehicle is less than the amount to repair it, that's what the insurance company will do with full coverage. Older cars should always be considered for liability only. Newer cars generally are required to have full coverage while being paid for because the loan holder does not want to risk having the car wrecked without replacement costs. The gray area between a new car under loan requirements and an old car that obviously needs only liability leaves the dirty details for you to decide.  Find the Kelley Blue Book http://www.kbb.com/ value of your vehicle. Get the annual cost of collision (full coverage) and the annual cost of liability only coverage.

value of car  / (collision-liability premiums) = years until you've paid to replace your car.

Example:

Your car is worth $3,000 on KBB. Collision is $600. Liability is $100.

3000/(600-100)

3000/500

6

In six years you will have paid the insurance company the money they would give you today if  you totaled your car.

Your car will have also depreciated in six years to $2,000 (give or take). If you wrecked it in six years, they would only give you $2,000 and you will have paid them $3,000 (more paid above the liability premium).

Insurance is about risk. You don't know if you'll wreck your car tomorrow, ten years from now, or if you'll sell it as an antique when you're a dinosaur. The decisions are all yours to make.

Are you still paying a gap insurance with your car payment?

Gap insurance is designed to pay the difference in the insured value and the loan value early in a car loan in case of the event of totaling. This is a nice coverage to have if this is a concern, but you would be better to not buy a higher value car. Better yet, walk in and pay cash for your vehicle.

Clean your own car!

I'm amazed at the prices people pay to have their car washed and detailed ($10-$50+). Five dollars at the do-it-yourself wash includes vacuum cleaner use too. Better yet, do it for free in your driveway!

Clean out unnecessary heavy items from your car.

Your car works for every pound it has to carry. It is good for your gas mileage to not carry unnecessary weight in your car. This also works for making sure you balance the weight throughout your car/load as much as possible. If you are placing something of moderate weight in your car and it is only you that will be in the car, place the item on the passenger's side in order to equalize the weight a bit.