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5 Ways to Save on Petrol

5 Ways to Save on Petrol

Tags: Consumer Action Cost of Living Energy
Last updated by Disabled Administrator on

petrol-420x0The Fuel tax is set to rise next Monday adding further pressure to the soaring cost of living.

Average fuel prices have almost doubled since 2002 when they were around 87 cents per litre, according to the Australian Institute of Petroleum. The latest data shows the average price across Australia has soared to $1.49 a litre.

Furthermore, the petrol price cycle and the idea of ‘cheap Tuesdays’ have seemingly disappeared, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

We know Australian motorists are fed up, so we’ve pulled together some tips to save at the bowser.

1.    MotorMouth
MotorMouth helps you find the cheapest petrol prices near you. The website includes a price map, a 7 day buying outlook and plenty of information to compare prices. For smartphone users, they’ve got an app you can download.

 2.    Discounts
Discounted fuel is not limited to the 4-cent shopper dockets from Coles and Woolworths. Discounted gift cards and specials are often available online. I like to keep my on Oz bargain to see what’s around. For example, just yesterday you could get 5% off Caltex Petrol eGift Cards.

3.    Be a mindful driver
You’ve probably heard some of these before, but there’s numerous ways you can become a more fuel-efficient driver. Make your fuel go further by driving in the right gear, stop starting less often, speeding less, using air conditioner sparingly and traveling light.

4.    Fill up when the price of fuel is cheap, not when your petrol tank is empty
If you wait until the red light appears on your dashboard before you start searching for the nearest petrol station you could be paying more than you have to. Try pay more attention to daily price fluctuations and fill up when it’s cheapest. MotorMouth can help you keep track.

 5.    Car-share
If all else fails maybe it’s time to ditch your car. If you have two cars maybe get rid of one. Car sharing might be a better choice than buying and maintaining your own.

Do you have any tips to save on fuel bills?

Originally posted on .

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Ken
Ken from NSW commented:

fuel excise slips in to insignificance when petrol prices can rise and fall by as much as 25 cents per litre overnight for no apparent reason, so please stop pushing the fuel excise as a Tony Abbott government demon, it's not. ken 

Terry
Terry from NSW commented:

You want cheaper fuel? Then lets all become consumer terrorists on fuel. If we all banded together & ONLY bough of the ONE company for a month at a time I'm pretty sure that you would soon see the other companies lowering their prices the next month to attract the consumer fuel terrorists business for the whole of the next month. This action would see us, the consumer holding the ace card in the MONOPOLY stakes rather than the multi nationals. United we stand, divided we fall & are sent to the poor house by the big companies & their collusive behaviour. There is massive strength in a united consumer base, its about time that we had our turn at holding the whip in our habd. The same could be achieved with a unite party of grocery purchases. What do you think would be Coles reaction if we all decided to shop at Woolies for a month no matter what they did. Obviously they would start to lower prices over that month to break our stranglehold on them, but if we stood united for another month & did not break our pledge I'm pretty sure that you would start to see cheaper groceries from both parties well into the future. The same would work with the banks, car sales, travel agents etc... the list is endless. All we need to do is to get organised & stand UNITED for a minimum of a month at a time. 

warren
warren from NSW replied to Terry:

I'm very interested in how you plan to get your brilliant socialist hypotheses off the ground and flying. Others have tried with $Millions spent, petrol watch and grocery watch that failed dismally. 

Someone
Someone from NSW commented:

Why cannot the Fifty Up Club pressure the Government and authorities to stop this lunacy with the petrol prices. Why is there a petrol price cycle?? The price of oil is at its lowest for years and look at what we are paying!! Why are there weekly price spikes? We are being gouged! I think the petrol/oil companies have something over successive Governments which lets them get away with this. Australian motorists are being ripped off, as with other commodities. You can travel around Mexico, a third world country, and pay the same price no matter where you are. Start a petition as was done for the health issue of the GP co-payment. 

Christine
Christine from NSW commented:

These concepts are not new. I would expect most older drivers do the above to the extent that they can afford. Come on we want smarter ideas not regurgitation of already known ideas out there. This is not new or innovative - very disappointed - I feel cheated 

Ken
Ken from NSW replied to Christine:

Christine I agree, I like Terry's idea best, only we can make changes. 

Someone
Someone from NSW replied to Christine:

I agree with Christine . We have heard all this before except the usual suggestion to "shop around". If the Fifty Up Club is actually capable of acting as a pressure group get involved! You can not have the same crude prices over time, frozen tax increases but horribly increasing prices at the pump without increased margin.from the sellers. It should be clear , even to blind Freddie, that the problem is the duopoly that is really running the show. One suggestion might be to organise a one or two week alternative boycott of Caltex and Shell. Boycott Shell for two weeks then Caltex for two weeks. When One supplier is forced to drop the price, switch when they become cheaper! Fifty Up is always shouting about group pressure so let's see it in action! 

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