Debt Free

These days when gas is over $3.00 a gallon in many places and cars are, well cars are just too freakin' expensive, every little bit helps. Here are some really quick tips to help you save a little bit of money on your road to getting debt free.

Money Saving Car Tip 1
Plan a little – Just as in business, a plan can be a great thing. In many areas there are places where gas is less expensive that others. Sometimes you can save 5 – 10% on a gallon of fuel depending upon the location you're buying fuel. Many things create this; different real estate values, local tax rates, the station owner's business model, etc. The point is you could be paying $3.19 in one place, and 10 miles away, the same gas is selling for only $2.89. If you plan your fuel stops, especially if you regularly travel between different locations like this, you can get a nice break on fuel costs. When you get gas, follow money saving tip #2.

Money Saving Car Tip 2
Get gas early in the morning. Gas is a volatile liquid. It changes density with temperature. Since gasoline is sold based upon volume, not density, you can use this to your advantage. Get your gas early in the morning, after the gas in the storage tank has cooled off all night. The gas will be denser, thus you'll actually get more energy content per gallon.

Money Saving Car Tip 3
Clean up a bit. Unless you need them for work or your car is notoriously unreliable, don't carry heavy tools or other heavy objects around in your car all the time. It costs fuel to get them moving and puts extra wear on your brakes to stop. Clean out your trunk or pickup bed and you'll save 2% - 5% over having all that crap back there. The lighter and lower powered your car, the more you'll save per pound of junk you remove.

These are just a few quick tips to help you save some money and get debt free. If you think about it, your car is really a bad idea from a fiscal perspective. Any time you pay interest on a depreciating asset, it's a bad idea. If you have one that also costs you money in other ways, such as gas, parking, insurance, maintenance, etc, it adds up to one bad investment. If you have a job where you can take public transportation to work, you can save big money by making due with no car or one that's in the sweet spot. The auto owner's sweet spot is where the vehicle has taken most of the depreciation hit, yet is still reliable and as economical as possible to operate.