FIVE STEPS TO SAVE YOU MONEY

2023-02-25 -

PUMP UP YOUR TYRES

Ever pedalled a pushbike with flat tyres? It’s not fun. The same goes for cars – there’s more rolling resistance in an under-inflated tyre, so your motor has to work harder. Mobil reckons tyres under-inflated by 10 psi will add 10 per cent to your fuel bill. If you drive an average of 10,000km a year in a small car, you’ll spend around $1500 on fuel. Keeping tyres pumped up might save $150 – or two tanks of petrol.

ENJOY THE BREEZE

The airconditioner in your car is powered by the engine, which means you burn fuel to stay cool – a rule of thumb is that aircon adds about

5 per cent to fuel use. It’s often more efficient to drive with windows down for fresh air, particularly at lower speed – you might save $100 a year.

WATCH THE TRAFFIC

You can save a lot of fuel by driving smoothly, conserving momentum on the road to maintain a good rhythm in traffic. The US Department of Energy says smooth driving saves up to 30 per cent of fuel on a highway and 40 per cent in stop-start traffic – that could be up to $800 a year if you’re a heavy commuter. You’ll also save wear and tear on consumables such as brakes and tyres.

PLAN YOUR REFILLS

Filling up when in a hurry or running on fumes limits your options. Services such as the government Fuel Watch website and Petrol Spy app let you check prices in the surrounding area to make sure you get the best deal. You can try to time refills to beat times of high demand (such as the Thursday before a long weekend) and use membership apps such as My 7-Eleven to hunt down a deal and lock in the price of cheap fuel for a week. The app can save a few dollars at each fill, adding up to more than $100 over a year.

LOSE EXTRA WEIGHT

Many of us have unnecessary stuff in the car that weighs it down, compromising fuel economy. Boston’s MIT university found every 100kg of extra weight in a car added about 0.4 litres/100km to your fuel figure – or about $40 every 10,000km. But 100kg is a whole lot of camping chairs and sports gear so you probably won’t save that much.