The average American family spends more than $2,500 a year on gasoline. In times of depression, many people look for ways to cut costs. Furthermore, there is strong evidence that the world is running out of cheap oil, so we may be left with ever-increasing gas prices for the foreseeable future. Like most Americans, I drive a lot. Taking your car out for work or just for fun can result in a hefty gas bill at the end of the year. And since I don’t have a lot of money to spend on a fancy hybrid or all-electric car, I’ve tried a bunch of different techniques to save money on gas with the car I already own. My family and I live in a mixed urban/suburban environment with many city roads and highways, so the following techniques that worked for me may also work for you.

#1 Drive slower on highways

A “regular” highway driving speed of 65 to 70 mph uses a lot of gas for most cars. After some optimum speed, as the cars accelerate further, they start burning crazy amounts of fuel for marginal increases in speed. For a small to medium sized vehicle like my Toyota Corolla, the optimum speed seems to be around 55 mph. Traveling at this speed along highways allowed me to get a consistent 10-15% increase in fuel efficiency over a normal highway speed of 65 mph.

#2 Avoid hitting the brakes

Every time you use the car’s brakes, precious fuel is essentially wasted as the heat byproduct of friction. To avoid wasting fuel (and your money), try to time your drive to avoid hitting red lights. This could mean planning a route to work that has fewer traffic lights and/or stop signs. Another way would be to start slowing down when you see a traffic light turn yellow, so that you slide to a smooth stop without having to brake too hard. This technique can significantly improve fuel efficiency when driving on city streets with many traffic lights.

#3 Keep your tires fully pressurized

This little trick has saved me at least a couple of hundred dollars in the past year. When a car’s tires are filled to their maximum safe pressure, they will spin more efficiently and therefore burn less fuel for every mile traveled. I usually pump my tires once a month to maintain good tire pressure, this gives my car about a 5% increase in fuel efficiency. Tire inflation can be done at most gas stations, and the cost usually ranges from free to 25 cents.

#4 Upgrade to low rolling resistance tires

Every two years, your tires will need to be changed. That would be a good time to upgrade to low rolling resistance tires. While these tires are a bit more expensive than normal tires, they are well worth it. With 4 of these bad boys mounted on your vehicle, an immediate 5% fuel efficiency increase can usually be achieved.

#5 Use Fix-A-Flat instead of carrying a spare tire

The spare tire on most cars is basically a gigantic dead weight being carried around. In the event of a puncture, an alternative product such as a 1lb Fix-A-Flat Tire Inflator can be used instead. This trick worked great for me on normal roads, but if your vehicle has to go over rough gravel terrain, a spare tire may still be necessary.

These techniques have saved me over a thousand dollars on gas over the last year. There are many other methods of squeezing every last mile out of a gallon of gas. You can find them on sites like Hyper-Milling/Eco-Modification Forums.