Gas Saving Myths

I gassed up my truck today at $3.28 per gallon and I really think I was fuming more that the fuel that I was pumping into my truck. My debt retirement plan is taking a serious hit because of the price gouging of the oil companies!

When I got home I decided to do an internet search on some gas saving tips and I actually came across these myths. I can remember being told some of these as a teenager by my parents.

There have been additives, special magnets and even a pill that has promised to improve a car's fuel efficiency by as much as 30 percent in some cases.

"With all the pressure car companies are under, if one of these inexpensive devices dramatically did improve fuel economy, they (automakers) would be all over it," said Rik Paul, automotive editor for Consumer Reports.

Windows, air conditioning - who cares?

In two separate studies conducted in 2005, the automotive Web site Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports compared the fuel economy of both a sedan and an SUV at highway speeds with and without air conditioning and how open windows affected gas usage.

What they found was no significant difference in fuel economy in either sedan or SUV under either condition.

Some drivers insist the best time to buy gasoline is on a Wednesday, when pump prices have cooled from the weekend run-up when oil companies typically raise prices.

That's true to a point, says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices tend to be higher on the weekend, but there's no ideal day of the week to purchase your gas.

It's probably a myth that goes back to the days when cars were equipped with carburetors, but many drivers believe that starting up and turning off your car repeatedly is a fast way to drain your gas tank.

Because of modern fuel-injection technology, drivers actually save gas by turning off their engine than letting their car needlessly idle, says Consumer Reports' Paul.

There are also some real and practical gas saving tips out there like making sure your tires are properly inflated, removing excess weight, using cruise control and actually driving the speed limit.

Internet Nazis – No Links for You!

I’m more into telling my story than I am into trying to make money from blogging (Not that I wouldn’t be interested if the opportunity presented itself) but I have met several people who earn a little extra scratch through their blogs. Several of us have heard the horror stories from other bloggers who have agreed to use Google Adsense only to be dropped when it was time to receive payment.

The fact that people are looking elsewhere to make money with their blogs seems to be a bit puzzling to the Evil Empire of the internet, so much so that they are now devising a way to punish bloggers and advertisers who sell and buy links.

Google Exec. Matt Cutts explains clearly on his blog that they do not want advertisers buying text links on blogs nor do they want bloggers selling the space. They’ve even gone so far as to set up a system to report when you see paid links.

It all seems hypocritical to me seeing as how Google makes a ton of money from their Adsense and Adwords programs. Both are geared towards getting your readers to click on a link. Here’s how it works. An advertiser pays Google money to place the links on your blogs and you in turn get paid, very minimally I might add, every time a person clicks on the link.

Ummm… isn’t that the very thing that the people at Google are “trying to prevent”? It seems to me that what they are really saying is that you either sell text links through them or you don’t sell them at all. Kinda like the marketing bullies of the internet.

Way to go Google! You just seem to always do your very best to make friends in the bloggiging community. The problem is that no one likes to be forced into a friendship.

Another One Bites the Dust

The loan came through from my 403(b) account and I’m proud to say that I have paid off another credit card. My remaining balance on the credit card was $1,839.70 at 28.24% interest. Paying the minimum payment due ($91.00) would have ultimately taken six years and eleven months to pay off and would have cost me an additional $1318.00 in interest according to the debt reduction calculator.

Instead I took a $1,900.00 loan from my annuity at 5% interest and if I only make the $95.00 minimum payment each month it will take me four and a half years to pay back with only an additional $145.00 in interest. Doing the quick math I just saved myself $1,173.00 in interest.

Now the great thing on top of all this is that with the 403(b) loan all the interest goes back into my account.