TOTAL POWER

Chapter 1

HOW TO GET $500 A MONTH IN FREE OR LOW-COST GASOLINE

The price of gasoline has become unaffordable for those who are not wealthy. Many of us have to cut back on our food budget to afford it. Meanwhile the oil companies are making record profits. Yet, there are ways to save money on gas by changing your driving habits, buying it at a discount, and even by getting $500 a month in free gasoline. Let’s start with simple ways to save money.

14 ways to save money on gasoline

Stop driving. Don’t laugh, many people have decided they can live without a car and thereby save hundreds of dollars a month on car payments, gasoline, repairs, and insurance. If you live in a city or community and work at home, or you are retired, you may not need that expense. Why not invest that money or save it for a Caribbean cruise? Why not walk or ride a bicycle for your health? Or get a scooter that costs only a few hundred dollars and burns minimal gasoline?

Drive less. Shop for groceries with your friends and neighbors or use home delivery services like Instacart. Groceries and almost everything else can be bought online from Amazon, Walmart, and other stores. Where possible, negotiate with your employer to work from home or to work 4 days a week at 10 hours a day instead of five 8-hour days.

Combine trips. Plan ahead so you can do all your errands in one trip. Go to the furthest destination first, then work your way back.

Drive slower. Keep it close to 60 mph on the highway. Highway driving that exceeds 60 miles per hour uses more fuel. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), every 5 miles driven above the 60 mph level is equivalent to paying 20 extra cents per gallon for gas. Observing the speed limit and not exceeding 60 mph (where legally allowed) can improve mileage by 7-23 percent. Leave early so you don’t need to rush.

Quit the jackrabbit starts. Jackrabbit starts and hard braking can increase fuel consumption by 40 percent but reduce travel time by only 4 percent. Coast to the redlight when you can.

Avoid idling. With today’s advanced vehicles, turning the engine off and on again is no longer hard on your starter and you no longer need to warm up your engine. An automobile may burn more than a half-gallon of fuel for every hour spent idling. Unless you are simply dropping off or picking up someone, make it a habit to turn your engine off when waiting at the curb even if it’s just for a short period, and avoid drive-thrus.

Use AC only at higher speeds. Air conditioning can reduce mileage significantly, by as much as 20 percent. In fact, your air conditioner can consume up to one gallon of gas per tank to cool the vehicle. But driving with your windows open can produce aerodynamic drag, which reduces fuel economy. What's a driver to do? When driving at slower speeds (less than 40 mph), such as driving in urban areas, open windows are better. At higher speeds (more than 40 mph), close the windows and turn on the air conditioner because it uses less fuel.

Use cruise control. Using cruise control on 10,000 miles driven in a year could save you at least $250 a year and 60 gallons of fuel, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (assuming $4 a gallon for fuel, 20 mpg, and 15,000 miles driven annually).

Keep on rolling in traffic. Slow-and-go is always better than stop-and-go and not just to reduce traffic congestion woes. Maintaining a constant speed in your commute increases fuel economy because it takes much more energy to move a stopped vehicle than to keep a vehicle moving. In fact, it can take 20 percent more fuel to accelerate from a full stop than from 5 miles per hour. Try to anticipate stops and coast as much as possible.

Attend a driving clinic. Training sessions may be available in your area to learn more about efficient driving techniques.

Track your fuel consumption. There’s no better way to realize how much you save than by keeping track of how much fuel you use. Save your fuel receipts and start recording distance traveled and fuel economy (mpg) for each trip. Also, record trip type and other techniques to monitor your progress. For example, you can install and use a fuel consumption display. Other fuel-tracking devices are available that allow the driver to track individual trips or portions of trips. Options for vehicles without factory-installed fuel-economy computers (like in some hybrids) can be found online.

Change jobs. Find another job or start a business that allows you to work from home. Calculate any loss in income from your new job against the expense of maintaining a car. Look for a job that provides a free company car you can drive home.

Get another vehicle. Pete Buttigieg, the current Secretary of Transportation and other hucksters in the Biden administration urge us to buy an electric car to save on gasoline. Perhaps they can afford an $80,000 electric car (with limited driving range and a battery that slowly degrades) because they have cushy government jobs. But for the rest of us, the best way to save on gasoline costs is to trade a gas-guzzler for a more economical model.

Earn Fuel Points. Once you register as a Kroger Plus customer, you can save up to $1.00 per gallon of gas by shopping for groceries at Kroger. You get one fuel point for every dollar you spend in groceries. For example, if you spend $300 per month for groceries you get 30 cents off each gallon of gas at their pumps. Spend $1,000 per month and you get $1.00 off each gallon of gas. The idea is to fill up when your tank is almost empty, though you do have the option to use part or all of your fuel points when you fill up.

If you don’t spend that much on groceries, or prefer to shop at Publix or another store, you can still purchase Gift Cards at Kroger. The advantage is you get double fuel points when you purchase phone and gift cards from Kroger. And by clipping an online coupon you can get quadruple fuel points for gift cards. Use these cards as cash for purchases you are already making anyway. Gift cards are available for purchases at Home Depot, Cracker Barrel, Netflix, Outback, Shoney's, Domino’s Pizza, Amazon, eBay, Bass Pro Shops, Apple, Starbucks, Google Play, IHOP and dozens of others where you probably already shop.

Most families don’t spend $1,000 a month on groceries and gift cards, but for those who do there is a way to get around the 1,000 fuel point monthly limit ($100 savings). You simply have each family member register as a Kroger Plus customer and buy their groceries and gift cards separately from yours.

2 ways to get $500 a month in FREE gas

Method #1: Although most people don’t spend $500 a month on gasoline, some people do. They have gas guzzlers and/or commute long distances to work. Rather than tighten your belt and eat beans and rice instead of steak and potatoes, reconsider carpooling with other commuters. Get 3 or 4 people to split the cost of filling up your gas tank and everybody wins.

Method #2: There is another way to get free gasoline when carpooling is not possible, No, you don’t have to crawl under someone’s vehicle and punch holes in their gas tank to steal it. Instead, you barter for it—either services or products that cost you little or nothing.

Some products that cost you little of nothing are the many PLR digital products that you can copy and resell without paying royalties. PLR means Private Label Rights. It is basically a license for products you buy that you're permitted to republish, reproduce, or repurpose as your own. I’m biased, but the best source for PLR products is at: https://www.gorillajoemktg.com/plr. They offer a claimed $14,000 value package of 10-million PLR articles, 2500 eBooks, videos, and other digital products royalty-free that you can copy as many times as you like. The value is extremely high, but the one-time cost to you is extremely low. You can use these PLR products to barter for gasoline money or anything else.

The same firm also offers services you can barter for gasoline. See https://www.gorillajoemktg.com/. Irresistible business video and graphic services are available with pricing up to $1500 per custom video. But you get an unadvertised 90% discount by using the code GOLD90. You simply barter these services for any discount you choose above your 10% cost. For example, you would pay $150 for a $1,500 video and collect $1,350 for gas money. Or you can discount the video to $750 and keep $500 for gas money. Link to discount: https://www.gorillajoemktg.com/gold-membership

You are not limited to bartering digital products or services You can also barter an unlimited amount of physical products that you get free or at low cost by using the clever tricks and techniques in forthcoming volumes of this book.