Is it time to renew your auto insurance policy? If so, you may be simply planning on auto-renewing your policy without a second glance. After all, it’s served you well this far. Stop for a moment and consider this: the auto insurance industry has become incredibly competitive—it may be in your best interest, and the interest of your budget, to get a few new quotes before you decide to stick with your current carrier.

The question then becomes: how many quotes do I need? There’s no one answer to this question, but many people are comfortable with three or four. No matter how you decide to retrieve auto insurance quotes, continue until you receive a quote you’re happy with. If no company returns a policy premium that is lower than the one that you are currently paying, and you are happy with your insurance company, by all means, renew your policy. If, however, you are given several quotes that contain lower monthly premiums than you are paying at the present, it is time to give serious consideration to signing on with a new company.

How to Get Accurate Quotes

1. Pull out your current policy and take a look at your coverage. Note any changes that you can make to your current policy. For instance, if you are carrying a $250 deductible, raising it to $500 will lower your premium. If you raise it to $1000, you’ll save even more.

2. Drop what you don’t need. If you’re a member of AAA or you received roadside assistance as a part of your loan package, you don’t need to carry it on your auto policy. Rental reimbursement can often be dropped as well as, particularly if you have access to another vehicle should yours break down or need repairs.

3. Have you had any major life changes in the past year? If so, you may qualify for discounts. Graduating from college, joining a fraternal or professional organization or even getting married can all have an effect on your auto insurance rates. Be sure to include this new information when getting quotes for a new policy.

4. Be aware of state minimums. Each state has laws regarding auto insurance coverage. Be sure to know what your state requires or you may end up having to add coverage to your policy and pay a higher premium than you were quoted.

Everyone loves saving money and many people often neglect to think of reviewing their insurance policies. By gathering as many quotes as you can, you’re sure to not only have the proper coverage but pay the lowest premiums possible. If it’s time for you to renew your auto insurance or you’ve recently purchased a new vehicle, now’s the time to reevaluate your policy!

Photo credit: MY NEW CAR! by Tiger Girl

Author Stephen Anderson is an insurance consultant who strongly suggests that you search online to Compare Auto Insurance Companies to be certain of getting the best deal available. Auto Insurance Quotes Missouri is just one example of the state rates you can compare.

As the increasing prices of gas show no sign of slowing down, and now more motorists are looking for driving techniques that will save their gas. Some go the extreme and make a sport out of covering the most distance using the least amount of gas possible. The best hypermilers manage to eke out every last bit from each drop of gas and reach hybrid-like figures using ordinary cars. Hypermiling techniques – like drafting big rigs on the freeway – however, are seen by many as dangerous. Not only that, but getting good at them and doing them regularly are far more trouble than what they are worth. Without resorting to drastic measures, the following driving techniques are meant to give you more value for your gas money.

Driving Techniques – Drive Smoothly

Avoid aggressive acceleration, especially when coming from a full stop. It takes much more energy to get a car up to speed than to keep it cruising. Your engine burns more gas as you demand more power. There’s no going around that fact. Those driving diesels should know that these engines hate it when you mash the throttle. That cloud of black smoke you leave behind when doing jackrabbit starts is all unburned diesel. Take a lesson from truck drivers and pull away slowly. By altering your driving habits, you stand to save anywhere from 31 to 37 percent, according to a test done by Edmunds.com. You can drive a whole lot smoother when you learn to anticipate what’s ahead. Toll plaza coming up? Step on the gas just enough to reach it. Traffic building up ahead? No sense in accelerating and braking just a few meters later.

Use Cruise Control

As this feature becomes more and more common, even on entry-level cars, you should get into the habit of using it. Remember the first driving technique in saving gas? By engaging cruise control, your car smoothes out the speed you are traveling in. This eliminates unnecessary cycles of acceleration and deceleration. By not playing with the gas pedal all the time, you travel at the most efficient pace. Just don’t commit the mistake of using it on hilly stretches of roads. Using cruise control on uphills will cause your car to downshift and rev higher, all in an effort to maintain its current speed. And make sure to only use cruise control when safe and legal.

Drive Under the Speed Limit

As you go faster, you subject your car to more air resistance. It’s just the way air works. As you force an object faster through it, it pushes back harder. Those driving boxy family vans and tall SUVs should alter their driving habits to account for this phenomenon. Plus, there’s a practical side to keeping below the speed limit – the law. The cost of just one speeding ticket will undermine all the effort you put into saving gas using other techniques. So stay safe and leave earlier so that you can drive a little slower. This is one of those common driving techniques that people know is a gas guzzler.

Plan Your Trips

Plan your trips and combine a couple of little errands whenever possible. A car is at its most inefficient when just warming up. Frequent short trips not only waste gas, they subject your car to unnecessary wear and tear too. You see, during cold starts, all the oil that is supposed to protect your engine’s internal parts from friction drain to the bottom of the oil pan. For a few seconds, engine parts operate without lubrication and this is bad. Repeat this several times a day and you drastically decrease the life of your car. But also try to avoid excessive idling when doing errands back-to-back. It also wastes a lot of gas. Remember that you get zero mileage when you are not moving – and nothing can be worse than that.

Russell Clause is a contributing writer at CreditDonkey, a credit card comparison website.  When looking to save money on gas, consider gasoline credit cards that let you earn extra cash back on your next visit to the fuel pump.  Remember, when you use the techniques above repeatedly, you hopefully break bad habits. By altering your driving style just a little bit, you get to give your maxed out credit card a rest. And by driving in a more relaxed manner, you get to your destination a little later, but you arrive more refreshed and less stressed-out.

Do you have any driving techniques to save you gas?

Only buy or fill up your car with Gas (petrol) in the early morning when the ground  temperature is still cold..thus saving money on Gas

When you are filling up do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode.

If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3)  stages; low, middle and high.

In slow mode you should  be pumping on low speed, thereby minimising the vapours that  are created while you are pumping..   All hoses at the  pump have a vapour return.   If you you are pumping on  the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes into your tank  becomes vapour.   Those vapours are being sucked up and  back into the underground storage tank so you’re getting less  worth for your money.

Fill up your car in the morning and save on gas

One of the most important tips is to fill up when your tank is HALF FULL.

Savinging money on Gas

The reason for this is, the more fuel you have in you  tank, the less air occupying its empty space.   Petrol  evaporates faster than you can imagine.   Petroleum  storage tanks have an internal floating roof.  This roof  serves as zero clearance between petrol and the atmosphere, so it minimises the evaporation.   Unlike Service Stations, every truck load is temperature compensated so that every litre is actually the exact amount.

Another reminder.   If there is a fuel  truck pumping into storage tanks when you stop to buy, DO NOT  FILL UP.   Most likely the petrol/diesel is being stirred  up as the fuel is being delivered and you might pick up some dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.    Remember to always fill your car when the tank shows ‘half’.    Always fill up in the early morning.   Always fill  up in slow mode.

This  actually works. Try it and let us know how much of a saving when fueling up in the morning than in the afternoon.

This is a guest post by Deb Diplock from Woodford Newspaper.

The price of Gas, Petrol, and diesel has skyrocketed in 2008. This has really got everyone thinking of new ways to save fuel. Not everyone has the luxury of driving around in a solar powered car.

The number one way to save money on petrol costs would be to simply stay home. I don’t mean never step out of your door, however stop making those unnecessary trips.

Planning to kill two or three birds with one stone is also a great petrol saver. If you have to go somewhere anyway and can incorporate a few extra errands, you’ll be laughing!

Car pool. This an American term of which Australians are becoming very familiar with. I don’t think we even have our own term for sharing a ride or getting a lift but

Empty your car. Don’t drive around with your car loaded with unnecessary items. Check to see whats in your boot and clean it out. I know one guy who has a van and stores boxes of drinks for his cafe in there. Are you serious!!!

Don’t drive like an idiot. Don’t put your foot flat on the accelerator because it just literally suck s the petrol from your tank. My husband is a shocker for this. He always drop the gear to 2ND going up a hill at 100km per hour. You should hear the car revving!!!

Of course there are plenty more tips out there.. Let me know if you think of any good ones!

Consumers are getting crushed by the soaring cost of gasoline here in the US. Prices are increasing almost daily and people’s budgets are stretched to the limit. However, there are a number of things that you can do to combat these wicked price increases. Following are some proven techniques that can reduce your gasoline costs by 50%.

1. Use regular gas instead of the premium blend if your owner’s manual permits it. There is thirty to fifty cent difference between the cost of regular and premium gasoline. And if your car is designed to run on regular gas, there is no advantage in filling up with premium. Of course, if your car requires premium, you should never use regular as it may cause some damage to your engine.

2. Keep your engine well maintained. A dirty air filter can reduce your gas mileage by as much as 40%. Change the air filter according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. However, if you live in an area that is prone to dust and dirt in the air, you should change the air filter more frequently.

3. Ensure that your tires are inflated to the proper pressure. Tires that are over or under inflated can reduce your gas mileage by a considerable amount. Use a tire gauge to check your pressure. Do not depend on the guage that is attached to the air hose where you get air. They are frequently inaccurate.

4. Slow down! By far the primary cause of most poor mileage is speed. As far as gas mileage goes; speed kills! Traveling at 75 miles per hour as opposed to 55 mph can reduce your gasoline mileage by a whopping 25%. So the next time you are late for an appointment, call them and tell them that you can’t afford to get there on time.

5. Keep your car well maintained mechanically. Worn out spark plugs not only rob your car’s gas mileage and power, it’s stealing the money right out of your pocket. A six cylinder car that has one fouled spark plug is wasting 17% of the gas you buy.

Following the 5 easy tips above, you can easily reduce your gasoline costs by 50%. Check out my newest ebook for tons of other details on how to cut expenses and put money in your pocket!Put Money In Your Pocket.How to Reduce Expenses Painlessly!http://www.Reduce-Your-Debt.netLearn How To Make Money Online!http://www.the-absolute-greatest.comFREE Ebook – Make Money Every Day!http://www.milliondollararticle.com
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I spent over 20 years as an Investment Advisor for a major brokerage firm. In addition, I spent over 8 years as a professional investor and have served on numerous non-profit and corporate boards.
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