The holidays will be here before you know it, and now is the time to get ready. Whether your shopping list is a mile long or easier to manage, soon you will be clocking hundreds of miles in your car, and enduring endless hours in the local shopping malls. But the presents you buy may not be the only source of damage to your wallet. If you are not careful, you could be racking up some pretty serious gas bills as well.
If you want to keep more money in your wallet and free up extra cash for holiday shopping, you need to think carefully about how you drive and how you care for your vehicle. Here are some timely tips to help you increase your gas mileage during all that holiday shopping.
Start With Your Tires
Your tires a good place to start, so make sure they are properly inflated. Tires can lose air quickly in cold weather, so check the pressure each time you fill up and top off as needed.
Also take a minute to check the tread wear on your tires. An uneven wear pattern could mean your front end is out of alignment. Driving in an improperly aligned vehicle could be dangerous, so have it checked and fixed as soon as possible.
Combine Your Shopping Trips
One long shopping trip is more fun, and more productive, than a bunch of smaller ones, so make your list, check it twice and make your plans accordingly. Combining trips is one of the best ways to squeeze more mileage out of your vehicle and reduce the high cost of holiday shopping.
If you are visiting lots of stores in a single strip mall or shopping center, look for a central place to park your vehicle. Then walk from store to store and leave your car where it is until you are done. You will get some healthy exercise, enjoy the fresh air and avoid the stopping and starting that can kill your gas mileage.
Unload Right Away
It can be tempting to leave those holiday packages in the trunk, especially if it has been a busy day of holiday shopping. But forgetting those heavy packages could kill your gas mileage and cost you more money in the long run.
No matter how tired you are, take a few minutes to remove those holiday packages and hide them in your home. Whether you stash them in a closet or shove them under the bed, getting them out of the trunk will reduce the amount of weight your vehicle has to carry.
Holiday shopping is expensive enough. You do not need to add to it by sabotaging your gas mileage. The tips listed above can help you protect your pocketbook and free up more cash for those holiday presents.
