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Save 10% or more on gas -- easily

jlevene — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:44:18 GMT

It's a very easy thing to save 10% -- or more -- on your gas expenditures. Just burn less gas. It's much easier than you think. You can easily do these things:

Accelerate moderately when the light turns green. You didn't buy a Porsche; why should you care if the doofus in the next car pulls our faster than you?
Don't drive so fast. Never go more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Just grin and realize that driving 65 instead of 75 is like saving 30 cents a gallon (or more!), and on a 5 mile trip, it costs you 37 seconds.
When the light ahead turns yellow, take your foot off the gas. You have to pay for that gas! Why burn more so you can sit longer at the red light?

Following these extremely simple things will save you 10% or more of your gas expenditures, plus you'll have less wear and tear on your car, and maybe save on tickets and insurance, besides!

I check the mileage on my car every time I fill up, and I consistently get about 28 mpg. Every time I lend my car to someone, they get under 20. Driving 1,000 miles at 28 mpg and $2.75/gal costs $98.21; at 20 mpg it costs $137.50! Just driving moderately saves me almost $40 a month, or 29%; that's exactly the same as if I were driving "normally" and paying $1.95 a gallon instead of $2.75.

What would YOU do to get a 29% discount on gas?

I read in Reader's Digest during the gas crisis in the 70's: pretend you have an egg under your right foot, and try not to crush it. Excellent advice.

Forum: Gas

Always Use Coupons, Discounts, and Free Money

Cheapskate_Administrator — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 14:35:30 GMT

Always, always, look for all possible discounts and free money.

It's self explanatory, right?

Wrong!

It's hard to find all the coupons, discounts, and free money out there. Cheapskate shopping prides itself on finding these deals. Be a professional cheapskate, with our help!

- Cheapskate Shopping

Forum: General CheapSkate Tips

Always Pay With A Credit Card

Cheapskate_Administrator — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 14:01:06 GMT

Always Pay With A Credit Card

sponsored by: http://www.creditcardstrategy.com

A professional cheapskate understands that credit cards are actually discount cards. When used correctly, credit cards will help you:

Save money with cashback, rewards, and free money
Save money on interest with 0% APR intro rates, or extremely low permanent transfer rates
Increase your credit score
Provide accurate spending records for analysis
Provide added protection on purchases (insurance, breakage, unauthorized charges)

We never, ever, pay for anything with cash, unless there is no other method of payment. The only exception to this rule is if we are able to convince the merchant to give us a cash discount of at least 2%. Otherwise, credit cards are the way to go.

Our Strategy to Save Money With Credit Cards:

Never Pay Any Fees or Interest Charges
Always get as much cashback, rewards, points, or free money as possible
Using multiple credit cards will save you the most money

These seem like two simple rules, but it takes some knowledge to understand how to get the best possible savings.

Are you carrying a balance on any credit cards?

If so, you need to make sure you aren't paying any interest charges. The way to do this is to transfer your balance to a credit card with a 0% APR on balance transfers. Of course, make sure you there is no balance transfer fee.

Will you need to carry a balance on purchases in the near future?

If so, you need a card that gives you 0% on purchases. Some cards offer 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, if needed!

Do You Use At Least One Card Like A Debit Card?

Even if you need to carry balances on some credit cards (with 0% APR!), you should also have at least one credit card that you use like a debit card. Consider this card just like a cash card. Plan on paying it off in full each month.

The card should be a card that gives you cashback or rewards. By paying off in full each month, you'll avoid all fees. The cashback or rewards are your savings. You can save $100's of dollars this way. The best cards give 5% off at supermarkets, gas stations, and drugstores! 5% really adds up, especially with gas prices as high as they are today.

Do you use Your Cashback/Rewards Cards in the best possible manner?

Many people will need multiple cards to get all the best deals. Keep in mind, the cards that you use for rewards/cashback should all be used like a debit card. The idea is to save money by avoiding all fees and keeping the reward/cashback.

Best Credit Cards to Use Like an Debit Card:

Discover Gas:

5% all gas stations
double reward up to 10% when you choose a gift card from many of the merchant within the network instead of cash
up to 1% on all other purchase
gas rewards apply only to the first $1200 in gas purchases, then Discover pays the lower rate (use another card after $1200!)

Citi Drivers Edge Card

6% rebates on purchases made at supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations for first 12 months
Rebates can be used towards a new car or car maintenance
Rebate can be used in the ThankYou network for gas cards
Rebates capped at $1000 per calendar year.
Best part of this card is the free money for driving. Citi pays $1 for every 100 miles you drive capped at $500 per year (applies towards $1000 overall cap). To prove how much you drive, you send in your service records to Citi. This is one of our favorite ways to get free money. We got $150 last year for driving 15,000 miles!

Chase Perfect Card
1. 6% cashback at all gas stations for 90 days, then 3%
2. 1% on all other purchases
3. Best card if average (not poor) credit
Citi Professional Card:
1. 3 points per dollar at restaurants
2. 10,000 free ThankYou points after 1st purchase. Points can be redeemed for gift cards worth $100 (including gas cards.)

How can using multiple credit cards improve your credit score?

Many people believe that having too many credit cards hurts their credit score. This is not true.... If you use the credit cards correctly, they will help your score. If used incorrectly, they will hurt it.

Having multiple credit cards that you pay off in full each month will help demonstrate the ability to pay in time. The more accounts you pay on time, the better your score. Also, having more credit available to you overall will decrease your debt to available credit ratio. A smaller ratio looks good to the credit scoring companies.

Some people have written to us that they have a lower score because they are carrying "too many revolving accounts". The report may show that, but if you pay off in full each month, the credit cards are HELPING your score more than they are hurting it. The agencies need a reason not to give you a perfect score. We explain more on the credit score section...

Check out our credit score section for more detail and to get a free score.

Did you know you can have multiple credit cards from the same bank?

We carry almost ALL of the credit cards we discuss throughout the site. We currently have 7 different cards from Citi. There is no rule against having more than 1 card from the same bank.

- Cheapskate Shopping

Forum: General CheapSkate Tips

Always Compare Prices

Cheapskate_Administrator — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 13:24:27 GMT

Always Compare Prices

A professional cheapskate knows how to compare prices quickly. Comparing prices will give you a starting point to get the best overall deal.

Sometimes, the store with the best price won't be the best overall deal. A store with a higher price may have coupons or discounts available that lowers the price.

Comparing prices in the real world can be quite a chore. Luckily, there are several online shopping comparison sites. Our 2 favorites are:

1) Shopping.com: Our favorite comparison engine.

2) PriceRunner.com: 2nd line, we use it AFTER we find the general prices on shopping.com

3) Amazon: Final place to check prices before making a decision. Frequently, Amazon has prices that are cheaper because of coupons and free shipping.

Cheapskate Shopping

Forum: General CheapSkate Tips

Are Gas Supplements A Scam?

Cheapskate_Administrator — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 14:39:42 GMT

Many companies solicit cheapskate shopping to discuss gas supplements to increase gas mileage. Most of these programs have all the hallmarks of a scam. They ask us to pay them money, so we can buy some of the product and sell it to other people.

We have yet to find any valid source verifying the supplements. Wouldn't the big oil companies market these products if they worked?

Perhaps some of them do improve gas mileage, but at what cost? If you end up paying more money per mile driven, it's not worth it.

We believe ALL of these products are a scam. Be Cheap, but don't be a sucker.

- Cheapskate Administrator

Forum: Gas

Terms and Conditions

Cheapskate_Administrator — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 14:35:15 GMT

Basic Terms:

1) No spam

2) No affiliate links

3) No pornography, illegal, indecent, or immoral content

4) All use is voluntary

5) Cheapskate Shopping is not responsible for any content on the forum. Use caution with all information found within the forum

6) Be nice. Be cheap. Be happy!

Forum: Terms and Conditions Of The Forum

Are Gas Prices Are Too High?

Cheapskate_Administrator — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 14:32:11 GMT

What do you think is causing the high price of gas?

The war in the middle east?

The Chinese and India economies?

Price fixing by the major oil companies?

Lack of conservation and efficiecy?

-Cheapskating Shopping Administrator

Forum: Gas