Take care of yourself and your car - be prepared.
Keep Track of Your Gas Mileage and Spending
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Over where we live (North Carolina) regular gasoline is $2.47/gallon. With gas prices fluctuating, keeping a gasoline spreadsheet can help you keep an eye on your gas budget and adjust accordingly.
If you use Google Docs for your spreadsheet, it’s free and with plenty of templates to choose from, it's also easy to set up. Here are some of better gas mileage templates I found on the web.
If you’re worried about keeping constant track of everything, don’t worry. You can put information once a week (or every two weeks), if you can keep you receipts. I like giving my husband the receipts as he seems to enjoy it more than I do.
Create a Gas Spreadsheet
You can see what your actual gasoline expenses are and budget accordingly. See how effective hypermiling can be by tracking the before and after.
Here’s the spreadsheet that my husband created for tracking your gasoline mileage. Feel free to copy and modify to suit your needs. There are some extra tabs, but you don’t have to be as detailed.
If you see a dip in your miles per gallon, it could mean you may have to call your mechanic to check it out.
My car’s MPG changed during the move, which I attributed to the change in driving environment (more hills and I wasn’t driving efficiently). When I went to the mechanic, I actually needed a tune up and it is about the same as before now.
Want to Make It Easier? Try Fuelly
Basically Fuelly allows you to submit your gas receipt data and runs the numbers for you. With each fuel-up, you can get a clearer idea of your car’s:
- Running average gas mileage
- Cost per mile
- Best miles per gallon
- MPG
You can also use Fuelly to look up different models and see what’s the average gas mileage.
Tips on Improving Your Gas Mileage
There are some things you can do and adjust in order to improve your gas mileage and save money.
- Keep your car maintained. Check tire pressure and make sure you get oil changes regularly.
- Make sure your car isn't loaded down. Clean your car regularly and don't accumulate junk in your car. The extra weight can decrease your gas mileage.
- Be mindful of your driving habits. Speeding can not only increase your chances of getting a ticket, it can lower your gas mileage.
Thoughts on Gas Spreadsheets
What do you to save on gas money and/or keep track of your car? What’s the price of gasoline in your area?
I don’t really keep track of our gas mileage. I do try to do the majority of our grocery shopping at a particular grocery store that sells gasoline. For every $100 spent on groceries, you get 10 cents off a gallon and their gas prices are fairly competitive with other places. It helps with our gas budget.