SlipStream
Member
Well we are all aware that as the price of oil goes up and up then down then up again, it is our wallets that are increasingly feeling the pinch of the black liquid's value. I normally save myself heaps of money, simply by being fuel wise and watching trends in petrol prices. I thought I'd list my little technique to saving money - and refreshingly, it doesn't involve driving like a 92 year old woman, either. Please, anybody who bothers to read this, feel welcome to add to it.
All you need to do is keep your eyes open. The easiest way to save fuel is to get informed, and keep an eye on trends and cycles with the price of petrol. I'm not suggesting you borrow your weight in encyclopaedias, or ring up the Sultan of Saudi Arabia - it's eeeeeasy! Go to this link, find your closest capital city, and watch the little line in the second graph. It doesn't involve a doctorate in rocket surgery to spot a downward trend - for example, the below graph shows Sydney beginning a downward trend. In a few days, the price should have dropped even further (when you go out and fill up the car is up to you, because after a while it will begin to rise again). However it does involve a little bit of intuition to interpret exactly what that little line will do, because the cost of petrol can be really unpredictable (see 5/9 to 6/9!) - you really need to watch the news to predict such rapid changes. The 5/9 to 6/9 price hike of over 10 cents coincides with the political aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and US President Bush's degrading opinion polls (the question of the Iraq War was brought up again as a result). It's likely that if the current international climate continues (i.e. nothing major happens), this downward trend will likely continue to sink into the high twenties, before it plateaus and probably it will spike again.
So all in all it can become complicated, and if you're serious you can become quite informed and good at predicting oil prices. Common sense will prevail!
(Other ways to save "petty": drive more smoothly, drive less, use those docket "save 4 cents" things, buy a car that uses less petrol (its value will probably appreciate a little - or remain stable - while petrol prices continue to head north), service your car regularly, and any other ideas I have forgotten.)
But most important of all, become a bit of an oil analyst! You'll save the most money, and even more if you combine all of the above. Be fuel wise, and your wallet will worship you.
All you need to do is keep your eyes open. The easiest way to save fuel is to get informed, and keep an eye on trends and cycles with the price of petrol. I'm not suggesting you borrow your weight in encyclopaedias, or ring up the Sultan of Saudi Arabia - it's eeeeeasy! Go to this link, find your closest capital city, and watch the little line in the second graph. It doesn't involve a doctorate in rocket surgery to spot a downward trend - for example, the below graph shows Sydney beginning a downward trend. In a few days, the price should have dropped even further (when you go out and fill up the car is up to you, because after a while it will begin to rise again). However it does involve a little bit of intuition to interpret exactly what that little line will do, because the cost of petrol can be really unpredictable (see 5/9 to 6/9!) - you really need to watch the news to predict such rapid changes. The 5/9 to 6/9 price hike of over 10 cents coincides with the political aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and US President Bush's degrading opinion polls (the question of the Iraq War was brought up again as a result). It's likely that if the current international climate continues (i.e. nothing major happens), this downward trend will likely continue to sink into the high twenties, before it plateaus and probably it will spike again.
So all in all it can become complicated, and if you're serious you can become quite informed and good at predicting oil prices. Common sense will prevail!
(Other ways to save "petty": drive more smoothly, drive less, use those docket "save 4 cents" things, buy a car that uses less petrol (its value will probably appreciate a little - or remain stable - while petrol prices continue to head north), service your car regularly, and any other ideas I have forgotten.)
But most important of all, become a bit of an oil analyst! You'll save the most money, and even more if you combine all of the above. Be fuel wise, and your wallet will worship you.
