Spend less on gas this summer!

Plan to take more road trips now that summer is here? Here’s how to save on every tankful during your drive!

● 1 Pick an economical car!

Renting a car and not sure which will save you the most on gas? Or trying to choose between your vehicle and another driver’s to get the best fuel mileage? It’s easy to figure out the most cost-efficient auto when you log on to Fueleconomy.gov/trip. Simply input a few details about each (such as make, model and year), enter your starting point and destination, then estimate what percentage of city and highway miles you’ll be driving. This free site automatically calculates which vehicle saves the most on gas!

● 2 Get gas early!

In a new survey, 80% of drivers said they wait until their fuel gauge reaches one-quarter of a tank or less to refuel—however, you can save on every tankful by starting to look for a gas station once your gauge hits the halfway mark. Why? You feel less pressure to find any station due to worry about running out of gas, so you hold out for a lower price!

● 3 Gas up in the cheapest state!

Driving through more than one state? When you’re close to state lines, use a free app, such as Gasbuddy (Gasbuddy.com), to find out the prices of fuel in each state you’ll be in. Due to differences in state and local taxes as well as gasoline regulations, filling up in one state could cost you a lot more than gassing up right across the border!

● 4 Bypass traffic jams!

Getting stuck in an unexpected traffic snarl can end up wasting gallons of fuel as you drive along at a crawl. Luckily, you can easily avoid these gas-sapping slowdowns by dialing 511 on your phone before you go. This connects you to a free service from the Federal Highway Administration, which tells you the current traffic conditions on any road you specify in the state you’re in, so you can change course to one that’s less congested. Looking for traffic conditions in another state you’ll be in soon? Download the free app Waze, and you’ll be able to see traffic tie-ups that have been reported by other app users.