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Fuel Saving Tips for Cars and Trucks

Apr 1st, 2009
by admin.
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Car and truck fuel savings doesn’t have to be complicated. Many companies and salesmen try to hawk fuel saving devices as well as fuel saver additives. While some of these may marginally work, they are often expensive, complicated, and some may even damage your vehicle. Here are some fuel saving tips that can help you immediately, and won’t give you a headache in the process.

First and foremost, check your tire pressure. Although this is one of the most well-known fuel saving tips out there, it often goes unattended to. Simply airing up a few PSI (being careful not to go over the manufacturer’s limit) will save you several miles to the gallon per week, taking only 3 minutes to do the next time you hit a gas station.

Clean out your car! Ever notice how professional race cars strip a car absolutely bare, even removing the air conditioning system? Not only do even a few pounds of weight reduction heavily impact fuel savings, but you’ll notice your vehicle accelerate quickly without all the random junk in the back seat and trunk. Fuel economy style cars with weaker engines will see the most improvement in gas mileage. If you’d like to go even deeper, filling up your car halfway will save even more - A gallon weighs 8 pounds, and consequently a half tank will save over 50 pounds of weight in most vehicles. Seems kinda silly, but it makes sense.

A tip to consider the next time you get an oil change - Swap out the air filter. Dirty, old air filters restrict vital flow to the engine, which not only saps gas mileage but hinders performance. This can also be done on your own fairly easily with a few minutes of research.

When driving on the freeway, stick with larger vehicles like semi-trucks. They cruise at a consistent pace, and we all know fluttering the gas pedal to slow down and speed up with erratic traffic burns fuel quick. A more controversial approach is drafting trucks - or driving immediately behind one. This isn’t very safe, but it has been proving to effect fuel savings by up to a staggering 30-40%.

Google maps is your friend. Saving fuel by simply re-routing your frequent drives to be more efficient will pay off in the long run, and may also save you some time.

In closing, once again, be very careful when considering fuel saving devices. Not only are most of them gimmicks, but some fuel additives can erode the internals of your engine and hoses. If there was something cheap and proven to save on fuel economy, wouldn’t car manufacturers already have added it?

Posted in: Saving Money on Gas.

Gas Mileage: Scooters vs. Motorcycles, and Why You Should Own One

Apr 1st, 2009
by admin.
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If there is ever a time to own a scooter or bike, it’s right now. In these grim economic times, gas prices aren’t as important as simply saving gas. Motorcycles and Scooters can either replace, or at least in most cases supplement your current vehicle to save hundreds every month.

Motorcycles are much less expensive than many imagine. An entirely reliable, decent looking used bike can be had for less than a thousand dollars. Getting full coverage insurance on it can (shockingly) be a few 10 dollar notes a month, completely trumping even the cheapest of car insurance. What’s the advantage? Sheer gas mileage savings. A motorcycle can get up to 80 miles per gallon depending on model and engine size. While requiring a short learning curve (and taking a recommended safety course), they are not only extremely enjoyable to ride, but the fuel savings are nearly unbeatable.

If you’re not keen on riding a motorcycle, consider a scooter. A 150CC scooter can be had brand new for about the same price as the bike mentioned above, or much cheaper if used. It’ll pay for itself within months of purchase due to fuel savings and an absolutely unbeatable mileage. Many models get up to 120 miles per gallon - Yes, one hundred and twenty. At this rate, cruising around town is virtually free. And insurance on a simple scooter is equally inexpensive. Although 150CC is plenty peppy for around town, it’s inadvisable to take it on the interstate.

If one lives in an area prone to frequent rain, a 150CC scooter or motorcycle can still save you loads by using it to supplement your car. After getting suckered into it by a friend, I rarely use my main vehicle now, and lowered the insurance to liability. The mileage is simply unbeatable, and it’s a fun hobby. Did I mention parking isn’t hard?

If owning a motorcycle or scooter simply isn’t an option but you still want save gas on your car or truck, click here for free and simple techniques you may not have heard of

Posted in: Saving Money on Gas.

Save on Electricity: 5 Easy methods

Apr 1st, 2009
by admin.
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Saving money on electricity shouldn’t be tough. There are dozens of things you can do (some more obvious than others) to immediately impact your monthly bill. These will obviously vary from winter to summer depending on the climate, but lets dive right in:

Having a cold house during the winter is a bummer. The best way to naturally supplement your heating is to open south-facing window blinds and curtains. This will create a natural greenhouse effect and you’ll definitely notice your house become slightly warmer throughout the day. Make sure to close the curtains and blinds at night to insulate.

Consider turning down your thermostat 10-15 degrees at night right before you go to bed. Reducing the temperature can slash your monthly electric bill by as much as 20%, and you won’t even notice the different as you sleep. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set it to kick back up an hour before you wake to make your morning more comfortable.

If you have a fireplace, seal it unless you use it regularly. An open fireplace lets heat escape from your house as if it were an open window. Additionally, consider sealing up windows that may be drafty with a clear plastic film available at most hardware stores.

Turn down your water heater to between 115-125 degrees. Anything hotter is usually scalding anyway, and this will save you up to 25% on your heating bill and you’ll hardly if at all notice a difference.

During the summer, things are obviously much different.

Opposite to winter, keep south-facing windows shaded during the daytime. This will stop the greenhouse effect of hot sunlight pouring into your house all day. Also, installing external blinds can reduce the amount of heat entering your home by a staggering 80%! If there is any one way to save on electricity during the summer, this is it.

Don’t crank up your air conditioning too high. Anything below 70-75 will cost you up to 10% more per degree, and hardly will be noticeable.

Keep a series of fans around the house, promoting air circulation. If your basement is relatively dry, try placing a fan at the doorway to exhaust cold, dry air from the underground to your upstairs. Having even a slight air flow in your house will make it seem 5 degrees cooler, which can have a huge impact on energy savings.

Posted in: Utilities/Home Budget.

Cheap Exercise: Working Out At Home

Apr 1st, 2009
by admin.
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Working out at home seems either unpractical or overly complicated, but with the right exercises, you can do it effectively. Not to mention you save on a gym membership and the commute time. It’s a lot easier than you may think, all you need to do is use your imagination and get creative. It’s also a great way to build confidence in working out if you’re a newbie to the fitness scene. Here are a few staple exercises, and the muscle groups they work out. For an animation of how to do these properly, you may want to either ask a friend or look them up on a search engine:

For Chest and Triceps
Pushups: Nothing too complicated here, simple get into pushup position with your hands at shoulder width. Go down slowly, and push up explosively. Place your hands wider for more chest action, and narrower for my triceps.

Dips: To do this, you need to be careful. Go between two parallel objects at waist level, and grip each. Lower yourself to the ground with your legs tucked back in suspension, then raise up.

For Back and Biceps
Pullups: See if you can find a stable bar or frame to grip at shoulder width, with palms facing you (for more bicep concentration) or palms away (working your back more).

Rows: With one knee/leg and one supporting arm on a bed and the other leg posted off, bend over and pick up an object off the ground, bringing it to your chest, and slowly back down. Flip around the other way and repeat for the other side

For Legs
Squats: With your back arched in proper form, bend the knees to bring yourself into a squatting position and raise back up

Lunges: With a weight in each hand, walk across a room doing deep lunging movement, nearly dragging your trailing leg across the ground

For Core
Simply do crunches, making sure to alternate between regular, and diagonal-motion to hit your oblique abs (abs on the side of your torso). Leg lifts work as well. To perform a leg lift, lay on the ground on your back, and simply raise your legs up, bending slightly at the knee

Posted in: Fitness and Weight Loss.

Cheap, Immediate Weight Loss Plan

Apr 1st, 2009
by admin.
2 comments

Are you ready to finally get started on losing weight? The answer isn’t as hard as businesses and diet product pushers make it out to be. Losing weight is a matter of simple science - You can lose 8 pounds per month without truly changing your lifestyle or buying expensive products, diet pills, plans or services. The only reason dieting seems complicated is because businesses step into the middle and try to squeeze out money as you’re shedding weight. Here is a cheap simple immediate plan to for weight loss, without the BS.

You simply need to sustain a calorie deficient diet. That sounds scary and painful, but it isn’t whatsoever. Find out the amount of calories you eat every day, on average. To do this, just add up what’s on the labels of what you eat every day, and at the end of the week, divide by 7. This is the amount of calories that is sustaining how much you weigh right now. Losing weight is so simple and easy this way, all you need to do is subtract a few hundred calories, and you WILL lose weight immediately (within a week), guaranteed. Does that sound too straight forward and easy? With the way commercials and products try to brainwash you, it just might.

You can do this without even giving up what you eat. The easy way to do this is cut down on sugar from your diet. If you drink soda, switch to diet soda. A can of coke has nearly 200 calories of sugar in it, and sugar is more fattening than fat! If you sweeten coffee, tea, or anything else with sugar, switch to Splenda or another no-calorie sweetener. This is cheap and simple and will lead to weight loss within days or weeks. You don’t even have to sacrifice the flavors and food you love. The best part is this is permanent weight loss!

If you’re still not losing weight by subtracting a few hundred calories, subtract a hundred more until you’re at that level. Drink tea or coffee sweetened with Splenda. A hot (seemingly) sugary beverage with caffeine will distract your appetite and give you a boost of energy. Otherwise, just switch to less fattening versions of the same products. If you’re eating 3000 calories per day, you WILL immediately lose weight on 2800 calories. It will only take a week or two to see results, and you might even save money in the process. If you can carry around a pen and pad of paper in your purse or back pocket, you can do this!

Posted in: Fitness and Weight Loss.

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