Here are even more not-so-secret fuel-saving tips and tricks

Whenever oil prices rise, these fuel-saving tips will come in handy. Note that we won’t just be tackling driving tips, however, as being frugal is also a matter of lifestyle and not just a matter of how efficient your car is. 

If you only need to gas up once and do not need to consume even more fuel in order to get fuel, then that’s better. Unless you push your car to the nearest gas station, you will be consuming a modest amount every time you look for and pull into a gas station. 

If you can minimize the number of times you fuel up, you can save some liters of fuel at a time and that adds up. It’s a good habit to visit a gas station sparingly so fill up to the brim whenever you can. 

There’s a way to save money with big brands, and all you have to do is be loyal to them. Rewards programs are a great way to save money and get perks and prizes while you’re at it. For example, Petron’s Value Card is probably one of the most well-known in the market, and you get points that can be converted into pesos on your next fill-up! The same goes with Shell and their Go+ App which gives you incentives to keep coming back to the brand. Other than that, there are brands like Caltex with their own discount card that will straight up reduce the price of your bill. No, this is not an endorsement, but if the rewards program is being offered to you for free, you might as well take it and save some money while you’re at it. 

Just like the first tip, this also adds up over time. Before you know it, you have a few hundred pesos in points for you to use on your next visit. There are also other prizes that you can redeem like goodie bags or official merchandise, but we recommend that you stick to stuff that you actually need, like more fuel, perhaps? 

If you drive a gas-guzzling SUV like the Nissan Patrol Royale, for goodness’ sake, drive something that doesn’t get three-something kilometers per liter in traffic. If you have a big car, consider taking a smaller car that’s more efficient and doesn’t drink a liter every thirty minutes of it idling in the parking lot or at the stoplight. 

With that being said, if your car is already fuel-efficient as it is, consider public transportation. It’s cheaper to take the train or the bus. Though you might be inconvenienced because of long waiting lines and other factors at play. If you leave work earlier (with permission from your boss), then you should be able to get a ride home in time. 

If you keep tabs on fuel prices in your area and the price fluctuations every week, perhaps it would be good to invest in a jerry can just in case. Before a price increase, it’s not uncommon for people to go to fuel stations on foot, can in hand, to buy a few liters to keep before the prices eventually go up the next day. 

You can get more out of your money this way, but we recommend that you tell the attendant exactly the amount that you need instead of saying the monetary amount. Remember, however, that the most important part of this tip is to store the fuel properly lest it goes stale. 

If you use cash to pay for your gasoline and you’re in dire need of gas money, try digging around for coins, small bills, and other loose bits of change and save them in a jar. Think of it like a piggy bank of sorts. Change may go unnoticed, but when you’re trying not to cut into your bank account, this could save you some money by using cash that you won’t miss or would have otherwise forgotten about. 

Though we get it, this practice severely inconveniences attendants and cashiers who have to count the coins. Our advice is to tape up the coins together in stacks of 10, that way it’ll be easy to count. So instead of working with denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 20, cashiers will be able to work with denominations of 10, 50, 100, and 200. Be sure to tape the coins together as well! 

There are a few things that make the nighttime a worthy time to fuel up. At night, there are fewer people out and about, unless there are circumstances that render the roads impassably traffic after the sun goes down. If there are not a lot of people out, then consider refueling. You’ll spend less time waiting for your turn at the pump that way. Less time waiting means less time that your car’s idling and not moving and that also means less time that you spend at the station. 

Another reason why fueling up at night is better than at noon is because fuel tends to be denser the colder the weather gets. If you’re trying to squeeze every last bit of energy out of every drop of fuel, then you could stand to get more than what you pay for simply by refueling at night. A cold liter of fuel has more energy in it than a warm liter of fuel. We’re really pinching pennies here with this line of reasoning, but it’s true! Just Google it! 

Sacrilege! Buying something only yields an undesired effect, which is spending more! Yes, but hear us out. If you’re lucky enough to have both a car and a motorcycle, consider taking the bike out to work or out on your next errand run. As long as you’re not taking your big bike to work, your fuel costs will likely go down as a result. If you have a scooter or commuter bike in your garage, consider using that instead of the big cage. After all, it takes more fuel to haul you and about two tons worth of metal and glass. 

If you’ve never ridden a motorcycle or a scooter before, our advice is not to get into it with the idea of saving money. Trust us, some of us in the AutoDeal/MotoDeal team have tried to go that route, and it ended up costing us a ton more money compared to if we just stuck to our four-wheelers. The cost of gear, more frequent maintenance, and even riding lessons can add up and severely offset the fuel savings. Unless you’re already set up for life on two-wheels, stick to your four-wheeler. Though, we won’t stop you from falling down the rabbit hole.