There are numerous ways in which consumers inadvertently waste money when fueling their cars. GasBuddy recently conducted a study to find the most common money-wasting practices, so that drivers can avoid making these mistakes and save money at the pump. Find out if you’re guilty of falling into these habits.
Regularly going to the same gas station.
While 62% of respondents said they go to the same gas station regularly because they believe the location has the cheapest prices, Vera Gibbons, senior consumer analyst at GasBuddy, recommends doing research to ensure that this is indeed the case.
“Make sure you’re shopping smart and checking that your go-to fill-up spot is, in fact, the cheapest. You never know when a nearby station is running a promotion or may have changed their pricing strategy, so always double-check.”
Paying with a credit or debit card.
In GasBuddy’s poll, 86 percent of respondents said they pay with plastic rather than cash when fueling their cars. According to Gibbons, you should do the opposite because paying with cash can save you money. In fact, many gas stations around the Delray Beach area charge extra when credit and debit cards are used.
Letting your car run till it’s nearly empty.
This isn’t just hard on cars, it’s also a bad move if you want to save money on fuel. According to the study, only 21.7% of people stop at a gas station when they see a good price; most drivers instead wait until they have a quarter tank of gas left and 19% actually wait until the gas light turns on. What’s more, 39.9 percent of people admitted coming close to running out of gas entirely.
When you’re desperate to get gas you’ll likely stop at the first gas station you encounter, which means you could be paying more than if you had an opportunity to look for a location with the cheapest prices.
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