Petrol prices are now topping £1 a litre. Check out these top 10 tips to cut the cost of your fuel bill!
In How To Get A Cheap Used Car earlier this year, I wrote: "The price of fuel has come down, and it looks like it will stay down for a while".
How wrong I was. The price has leapt from 85p to more than a £1 in a few short months. While there is very little you can do about the price of fuel, there are real practical actions you can take to minimise your use of it.
Here are my top 10 tips to save fuel and money:
Kerb your driving enthusiasm
A heavy boot will result in a light wallet. Hard acceleration and braking can add up to 30% to your fuel bill. Plus, if you drive a lot on the motorway, it pays to keep your speed down: on average, every extra 10 miles of speed per hour costs you an extra 4p per mile. The faster you go, the more this will increase - so be aware you may be spending several pounds to save just a few minutes.
Maintain your car
Not keeping to the correct service intervals can add as much as 5% to your annual fuel bill. So check when your car needs servicing and get it done. Take it from me, not doing this will be a false economy. Poorly-maintained spark plugs and air filters will result in poor combustion of fuel (i.e. not all the fuel will burn), and old oil will reduce how efficiently the engine moves, again increasing fuel usage.
Also, keep an eye on the tyre pressures: you should check these every couple of weeks. Low tyre pressures can add up to 3% to your annual fuel bill - plus it's dangerous and will wear your tyres out.
Buy fuel at the right place and time
Shopping around for fuel could save you a couple of pence per litre, but don't go driving out of your way to get it, you will burn the benefit off, and waste your time. Use petrolprices.com to find the cheapest petrol station near your postcode.
Also, if you can fill up early in the morning. This may sound crazy, but the lower the temperature the less the fuel will have expanded. Denser fuel results in more fuel for your money.
Keep the weight down
Big cars will burn more fuel because it takes more energy to lug the weight around. The same is true for little cars that are full of junk. So empty your car of all non-essentials items to reduce your fuel bill.
Don't bolt things to your car if you can help it
It is said to be cheaper to fly a bicycle from London to Glasgow than the additional fuel cost caused by having it on the back of your car. Bike racks, trailers, roof racks will all cost you, even if they are empty, so take them off to save money.
If you are stationary, turn it off
How often have you sat in a traffic jam with the engine on? Well, if you are at a standstill turn it off - and save those pennies!
Keeping cool costs
Having the air conditioning blasting all the time will add up to 10% to your fuel bill. Opening the window, especially at high speed, will again ruin the flow of air over the car, and increase fuel consumption. Open the air vents first to save.
Paying for fuel
If you buy your fuel on a credit card, you will save more by using an interest-free card than by shopping around for the best petrol price. Check out our 0% percent purchase cards to get the best one for you.
Alternatively, if you pay off your credit card in full every month, consider buying fuel with a cashback card. That way, you'll get money back for each £1 you spend. The American Express Platinum card is currently the best on the market - it offers 5% cashback on all spending in the first three months. After that the rate drops though, and this card is not accepted everywhere. Read My credit card gives me free money for more details.
Fuel type
My penultimate tip is the most extreme, but has massive rewards: Change the fuel.
You don't need to change your vehicle - a converted petrol engine can run on LPG (gas). But the conversion will cost about £1,500, so you'd need to be a high-mileage driver to reap any rewards. Diesel engines will run on bio-diesel, which can be made from converted chip fat if you are prepared to put the effort in. Read more about these options in Cut Your Petrol Bill By 50%.
Leave the car at home
Last but not least: stop using your car so much!
OK, so you don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure out that this will save you money on fuel. But even though it's obvious, why not take the time to sit and think about your typical car journeys for a few seconds. Do you really need the car for each journey you make? According to the Department of Transport, 25% of all journeys are less than 2 miles long. Cycle or walk these journeys and you'll save money and get fit at the same time.
If this is really not practical, why not car share, instead? Or potentially, ditch your car altogether and join a car club instead. If that doesn't reduce your car costs, nothing will....
More: Five ways to cut your petrol bill | Five Green Ways To Cut Your Car Costs