Soaring Prices, Sagging Economy—What's a Family to Do?
By Lyle and Tracy Shamo

• Plan your trips . Instead of hopping in the car every time you need a loaf of bread, try taking longer trips and buying more. For a week, log every trip you make and sit down at the end of it to see which trips can be eliminated and which consolidated with others. Before you take off, chart where you need to go and how you can drive it in the least amount of miles. There are some places you'll absolutely need to go–to work, to school, and to the doctor. Every time you are on one of those “must-have” trips, run your errands. Stop at the businesses and stores along your way, even plan on a few detours providing they are not too far out of your regular route. In time you'll discover the patterns to your driving and you'll be able to take full advantage of them.
• Use public transportation. If you are fortunate enough to live in a city with public transportation, use it. If you can access the system through your employer all the better. You might be able to pay for your transportation in pretax dollars and save nearly a third. Call your benefits department to see if this is an option for you.
• Drive your most economical car. Park your gas-guzzler and plan to use it only on special occasions such as when you take your family to church or for an outing.
• Check your tire pressure. Under inflated or worn tires can add 2% more to your energy costs for each pound under pressure.
• Don't let your tank dwindle to empty. Most experts will tell you that with today's fuel injections systems, your engine will perform at greater efficiency when it is half-full as opposed to half-empty.
• Don't top off the tank. Reactivating a fuel pump in short bursts actually increases the likelihood of the pump falsely recording the amount of gas you are delivering to your tank.
• Change the oil, spark plugs, and filters. Keeping your engine in tip-top condition decreases fuel consumption.
• Examine your gas cap. Make sure your cap fits tight and check for signs of wear. A gas cap is relatively inexpensive and a faulty cap causes evaporation.
• Lighten your load. For every 100 pounds of weight, your fuel efficiency declines by 2 percent. Look in your trunk, are you carrying around things that do not need to be there?
• Slow down. Reducing your speed from 70 mph to 65 mph saves 10-cents per gallon! The faster you go, the more air your vehicle has to push. That's quite a lot if you think about it.
• Don't race the engine. When the light turns green don't take off like a hornet. Press slowly and evenly on your pedal and brake gently. If you have a tachometer in your car, watch it for anything erratic and slow it down. Erratic acceleration and quick stops adds 35% to your energy costs, as much as 50-cents per gallon.
• Don't tailgate. Your mother always told you not to drive too closely to the car ahead, but did you realize that this is not only a matter of safety, but one of economy as well? Every time the driver ahead taps his brakes, you have to slow down faster than he did. That's because you have to allow time for yourself to react to his action. Hang back and you'll drive more smoothly and use less fuel.
• Don't worry about turning off the engine. You probably heard that you waste gasoline every time you re-start the engine, but that is no longer the case. Our modern, fuel-injection engines use very little extra gas to restart, and idling will cost you far more. So don't go through drive-ins, park and get out to do your business, don't idle your engine to warm up your car, and try to avoid peak driving times if it is at all possible.
• Check your owner's manual. Buy the lowest grade fuel your car will handle, but consult the owner's manual for maximum fuel efficiency and always perform regular maintenance on your vehicle. Your owner's manual is chock-full of useful information. Read it.
• Hoof it! –You'll not only save dollars but pounds.

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Lyle and Tracy Shamo are the authors of Debt Free On Any Income . For many years they have made a hobby out of budgeting and debt management. Lyle has been a frequent lecturer on the subject to many private, community, and church gatherings on this subject. Both adhere to the belief that you can live a full life at half the price.

Tracy is a homemaker and a mother of eight children and grandmother to twelve. She has served in many church callings but most enjoys serving as a teacher in the auxiliaries. She has written extensively and appeared briefly on two local radio programs.