Save time, money, gas using these Web sites

By BILL HUSTED

Cox News Service

June 8, 2008

It's time to get a little extra mileage from your computer.

Literally.

Your computer can help cut the amount you spend on gas each month. At today's prices, saving just a few gallons can keep quite a few bucks in your pocket.

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I saw the difference myself recently. I made a trip to Arkansas over the Memorial Day weekend and kept track of what I spent on gas. I covered about 575 miles each way and paid about $180 for gas.

The gas expense would have been even more had I followed my usual path. But before the trip, I used MapQuest (www.mapquest.com) to calculate various routes and found one about 70 miles shorter. That saved me more than two hours of driving time round trip and perhaps $24 in gas.

Using a route planner is the first and most obvious way of cutting costs. But there are plenty of others.

For instance, it's a no-brainer to buy gas from stations that charge less. Sites such as www.gasbuddy.com provide a fairly reliable index of what various stations charge. I don't drive miles out of my way to pay a few cents less. But it makes sense to find stations nearby — and along the route of longer travels — that are more reasonably priced.

I knew the route for my trip to Arkansas in advance so I was able to predict where I would stop. More than once the Web led me to cheaper stations just a couple of miles from interstate exits — where gasoline prices have always been notoriously high.

Another bit of technology can come in handy for finding the most economical route: a GPS.

Keep in mind, when you plan a route using a Web site or a GPS, the shortest route is not always the best. Cars get their best gas mileage without the stop-and-go pattern of two-lane highways.

Like most people, the bulk of my driving is between home and work. Because of my jobs and hours I've never been a good candidate for carpooling. Besides, my drive is only about 8 miles.

But I know co-workers who commute from distant counties and in one case from another state.

If I were in that long-range crowd, carpooling would be essential. Here in Atlanta, I could use this Web site — www.erideshare.com/carpool.php?city=Atlanta — to find a partner with the same route and similar hours. In other parts of the state and country, I could use this site — www.commuterchoice.com — to do the same thing.

You'll find carpool sites by using this Google search: +carpool+(name of your city).

Even if you carpool to work there are plenty of trips you'll make solo. There are some common-sense ways to get more miles to the gallon.

Here are some Web sites that offer ways to increase your mileage: www.wikihow.com/Save-Money-on-Gas and www.howtoadvice.com/savinggas.

Of course, the best way is to drive less. Your computer can help you cut down on the miles, especially for things such as entertainment, shopping and errands. A few examples:

Shopping: Many local merchants have Web sites. When I buy locally, I use sites to compare prices as well as check availability. That avoids trips to a store only to find the price is too high or the item is out of stock.

Entertainment: We haven't given up on going to the movies, but home-delivered DVDs from services such as Netflix (www.netflix.com) make sense.

Errands: A few years ago I would never have considered planning routes for several stops in the city.

Now, I spend a few moments with an online map or with MapQuest to plot the most efficient course.

The biggest savings from your computer? Using it to telecommute — assuming your job and your company allow it.

You can learn more about telecommuting — and pick up some arguments for the boss — at www.telcoa.org.

Finally, be aware that your computer can also make high gas prices worse.

I've found many slick sites that promised the moon if only I'd buy a product that injects a bit of water into the combustion process, or that uses magnets to magically save on gas consumption. So take a few moments at this site to learn how to avoid such online scams.

That's it for today. Now I need to join the jam on I-85 and head to work.