Wise and Wonderful Wednesday

With Memorial Day weekend quickly approaching and summer right around the corner, road trips and travelling will put more of a dent in the wallet as gas prices are at the highest average ever for this time of year. With some planning and preparing, it’s possible to maximize your fuel mileage so that you can have cost effective road trips in the coming months.

Max Bohbot, President of penny auction site Beezid.com, has put together tips on how to get the most out of what you’re paying for at the pump:

• Drive consistently and carefully: Avoid braking hard or accelerating unnecessarily quickly, you waste gas each time you accelerate just to brake a few seconds later.
• Do Your Research: Calculate how much a trip will cost in gas (you can use AAA’s gas calculator) and then compare it to bus, train or air fares.
• Cash not credit: Pay for gas with cash instead of charging it to a card, you’ll save a few cents per gallon. Sometimes you can buy gas cards at a discount on sites like Beezid.com.
• Fill ‘em up: Check that your tires are inflated according to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure. By maintaining well-inflated tires, you ensure your car is getting better mileage than on under-inflated tires.
• Invest in a GPS: Using a GPS cuts down on the chances of getting lost while driving to your destination which can waste time and gas. You can check out Beezid.com for deals on the latest GPS models.
• The one minute rule: If you’re going to idle your car for more than a minute, it’s worth turning off the engine. If it’s going to be under a minute, just leave the car running.
• The more, the cheaper: Try and carpool to destinations and split the costs of transportation costs.
• Quality goes a long way: Make sure to have your car or motorcycle inspected before you take a road trip, it’ll save you money to fix anything that might need repairs before your trip instead of potentially breaking down on the road which can become a costly inconvenience.