Putting it all together

 The wealth of information on this website can be deceiving. We've talked about marginal savings – 1 percent here, another 5 percent there, and so on. Just as saving a few extra cents per gallon by shopping for cheap gas does not seem like much, saving an extra mile per gallon doesn't seem like much either (although, by national averages, it amounts to almost $100 in gas bill savings per year).

And that's the problem most people face when trying to justify their efforts in cutting their gas bill. Who wants to keep a fuel log? Why should I bother with driving safely, when I can enjoy myself and go at high speeds? Why waste time shopping for cheaper gas? And the best of them all: These aren't savings! Who calls 5 percent of an $1100 yearly gas bill (national average, 2004) savings?

All these questions and arguments are valid. By themselves, each tip mentioned on this website will not save you a lot of money. Improving your car's aerodynamics is not a priority unless you like to race your car. Fuel consumption is not a problem because all new cars give great mileage.

But what if you could save 30, almost 40 percent of your gas bill? And with a minimum of effort? If your average gas bill is $1100, and you are able to save $300 to $500 of that amount, is that a bad deal? I'll let you decide.

The fact is that once combined, these tips and techniques are a powerful strategy of drastically cutting your gas bills. If you have more than one car in the household (and most households usually do), then the savings can be even greater in magnitude. If you own a small business and your company finances office-hour gas expenditures, a modest application of these tips will lead to substantial windfalls in gas money savings.

Don't be discouraged by the lack of visible impact on your gas bill with just one of two tips. Learn to integrate the lessons on this website into your life and keep your gas bills in control, even as world oil prices continue to rise indefinitely.