How to save money on gas in 2023

Gasoline prices in September 2023 more than doubled since the onset of the pandemic, when Americans put the brakes on driving amid stay-at-home orders. 

Retail gasoline prices surged to an all-time high in 2022 and moderated over the following year, but they’re still hovering around $4 per gallon. Prices on other essentials, like groceries and home energy bills, are also creeping higher due to inflation. 

If your budget is tight due to these rising costs, using tips and tricks to save on gas can help you afford other expenses. 

Best ways to save on gas in 2023

Saving money on gas may require a few changes in your driving habits or how you pay at the pump, but they’re pretty easy to implement. Start with these options. 

1. Use a gas price app

Gas price apps help you search for the cheapest gas prices near you, based on your current location, ZIP code or city. You could potentially save $150 or more a year by comparing prices and choosing the best deal.

Navigation apps Waze and Google Maps have features to help you find gas anywhere you are, but apps that specialize in gas prices can offer additional savings, too. For instance, Upside provides cash back when you claim promotional offers, while GasBuddy offers discounts when you use a rewards card at participating gas stations. 

“Gas prices are coming back with a fury,” said Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. Spending the time to drive to a gas station around the corner could be worth it. 

2. Pay with a rewards credit card

Rewards credit cards give you points, miles or cash back when you make eligible purchases on the card. Many offer bonus points when you spend in certain categories, which often include gas. 

Depending on how frequently you fill up, using a rewards card could potentially help you earn hundreds of dollars per year to offset your gas purchases. Some of the best gas credit cards include the Sam’s Club Mastercard, which offers 5% cash back at the gas pump (up to $6,000 spent), and the American Express Blue Cash Preferred card, which offers 3% cashback on eligible gas purchases. 

3. Pay with cash

Many gas stations charge a lower price when you pay with cash or a debit card linked to your checking account instead of a credit card. That’s because gas stations pay an interchange fee on every credit card transaction and they typically pass on the cost to customers. Cash could be a good option if you have it on hand and you’re not in a hurry.

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4. Drive at or below the speed limit

Lowering your highway speed can improve your fuel efficiency, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Every car is different, but most offer the best fuel efficiency at around 50 to 55 miles per hour. Once you pick up speed, the wind drag means that you’ll fill up your tank with increasing frequency.

“The goal is to find a cruise speed you can deal with that gets you where you need to go but at the same time reduces your RPMs as much as possible,” De Haan said. 

Keeping your speedometer needle low while on a trip in which you bundle your errands together — such as picking up groceries and the kids and barbeque wings for the game — can drop how many times you need to fill the tank each month. 

5. Join a grocery store rewards program

Several major grocery store chains offer free rewards programs where you can earn points and redeem them at participating gas stations. Some of these grocery chains include Kroger, Harris Teeter, Stop & Shop, Albertsons and Shaw’s — but you can check whether another store near you offers a similar program. Savings typically amount to 10 cents or more off every gallon.

And, if you get your foodstuff from a warehouse club, such as Costco or Sam’s Club, you’re not out of luck — while they may not have a gas-specific rewards program, they commonly feature member-only fuel stations that have lower-than-average gas prices.

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6. Fill your tank on the cheapest days of the week

Pricing trends show that it’s cheaper to fill up on certain days of the week. In most areas, gas prices are higher during the weekend and lowest on Monday, according to GasBuddy studies. 

That’s because gas prices generally move with a key government report (which is released on Wednesdays) and with consumer demand. “Friday is the highest day for demand on gasoline,” De Haan said. “But on Monday or Tuesday, when it’s a bit quieter, gas stations have to be a little more competitive to draw people in to fill their tanks up.”

7. Avoid hard braking and quick accelerations

When you slam on the brakes or accelerate too quickly, your engine has to work much harder. That can reduce your fuel efficiency and cause you to buy gasoline more often. While these driving behaviors may be hard to fix, you could stand to improve your gas mileage by around 15% to 40%, depending on your speed.

Cruise control can be a useful tool to help you to maintain a constant pace on highway or interstate trips.

8. Save on home energy

Reducing your natural gas usage can help you lower your utility bills — just by making a few changes at home. For instance, gas water heaters are typically set to 140 degrees, but most households can get by with a temperature around 120, according to the Department of Energy. 

“Every 10 degree reduction in temperature can save up to 5% on gas water heating costs,” said Christine Ciavardini, the client relationship manager with MD Energy Advisors. 

Additionally, wrapping your water heater with an insulation jacket can help reduce standby heat losses by up to 45%, saving you around 16% in water heating costs per year. Such insulation typically costs about $45 or less from sources including Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart, making it a rather inexpensive home improvement. 

How gas prices are looking in 2023

Retail gasoline prices in September 2023 averaged $3.96, which is well above the five- and 10-year averages, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. 

To understand this trend, we’ll backtrack to early 2020, when the pandemic caused Americans to drastically cut their mileage. This greatly reduced gasoline demand. 

“The oil industry reacted by cutting production in 2020 [and] 2021,” De Haan said. “Now that global demand has come back, it’s been outmatched by supply, which is kind of behind.” These changes caused prices to head higher.

Then Russia, one of the world’s biggest oil producers, entered a war with Ukraine. The U.S. and other countries began sanctioning Russia, which disrupted the supply chain. In a matter of four months, gasoline prices soared by 40% and broke the $5-per-gallon mark by June 2022. 

Now prices are moderating, but “as long as Russia’s fighting a war in Ukraine, it will probably prevent gas prices from going back to a price that most Americans consider normal,” De Haan said.