How to reduce your fuel bill by up to 25%
I’m sure you would like to know how to reduce your fuel bill, possibly by up to 25%. Fuel prices are something that can have a big effect on your finances, good or bad. At the start of this year the price of a litre went up by around 3p a litre. This was due to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cutting the production of oil. In the last few days however, the major supermarkets had been engaged in a ‘price war’ and the cost per litre has been going down. Whatever the situation is with the cost of fuel, it is still a sizeable amount to pay for a tank of fuel, especially as many fuel tanks now take around 60-70 litres of fuel.The cost of oil has increased as the organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has cut the production of oil.

So whatever the situation is with the cost of fuel there are things we can do on our daily car journeys to counteract the gradual increase of fuel at the pumps? Here are a few measures you can implement which could reduce your fuel usage by up to 25%.

  1. If you drive mainly in town, fill your tank to half way. A litre weighs about 1kg so reducing the weight of fuel you carry will decrease your fuel consumption.
  2. Be aware of traffic conditions ahead of you. The further ahead you look at traffic lights and roundabouts you may be able to adjust your speed. Use gentle braking so that you arrive when queues have either gone or reduced. The longer you can keep moving without any heavy braking or acceleration, the less fuel you will use up.
  3. Match the speed of your car to the correct gear. In general, you are likely to want to be in 2nd gear at 20mph, 3rd gear at 30mph, etc.
  4. Try to keep a steady speed. Sudden bursts of heavy acceleration, late braking, and unnecessary gear changes are all contributory factors to added fuel consumption. If your foot is not on the gas pedal you are using no fuel at all in a modern car.
  5. Make sure your tyres are correctly inflated. Over or under-inflated tyres can not only be illegal they also add considerably to your fuel bill. The information on the correct tyre pressures will be in the car manual but will also be on a panel either on the door sill or the column when you open the driver’s door.
  6. Finally, try not to travel with more weight in the car than is necessary for your journey. Sometimes it seems easier to leave large objects in the car boot than to remove them but more weight means higher fuel consumption.Check the boot for excess items which aren’t being used (golf clubs, pushchair etc.) Remember roof and bike racks cause drag which will add to the amount of fuel you use..

If you do all of the above, there is a good chance you will reduce your fuel consumption by up to 25%. Whatever the price of fuel, that can’t be  bad thing can it?!

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