Snazzo / Flickr

This is a post by BargainBabe.com writer Yazmin Cruz.

With gas prices on the rise, finding ways to save money on transportation expenses is a must. Last year, my dad came home and announced he was going to start biking to work. He was tired of paying $160 a month to fill up his car.

“Part of your route to work is uphill. How are you going to do that?”

My skepticism didn’t discourage him. He shopped around and found an electrical bicycle for

$1,700.

Ever since then, he has been riding to and from work only turning the bicycle on when he needs to go up a hill.

“It’s such a stress reliever,” he once said while walking through the door. “I like passing all the cars that are stuck in traffic.”

Believe it or not, he hasn’t seen an increase in the electricity bill. That’s because his boss gave him permission to charge his bicycle at work.

Gas prices are $3.94 on average nationally and significantly higher in Los Angeles at about $4.38 per gallon. He uses his car less often now and only pays $65.70 a month. He is saving $94.30 a month. At this rate, his savings in a year will be $1,131.60. In about a year and a half, he will make back in savings the money he spent on the bicycle.

But that’s not the only benefit. My dad lost weight, decreased his sugar and cholesterol levels, all without a gym membership.

His plan is to go car-less to maximize his savings. Can’t give up your car? You can still save money on gas by avoiding pitfalls that waste gas. To save money on gas I take the bus and subway instead of driving. What are you doing to save money at the pump?

To rent or not to rent? Credit: dennis/Flickr

Perhaps as a sign that going car-less for Lent is a good idea, yesterday for the first time I saw a bus go by my house. I can’t pretend to need a car when there is a bus route at my doorstep, can I?

Didn’t think so. Where I was in doubt about this sacrifice, you had none. Other than Linda O., commenters unanimously want me to ditch my car keys.

Final answer? I’m going car-less for Lent, which starts Wednesday, Mar. 9 and ends on Easter Sunday, Apr. 24, 2011. (The end of Lent is debated, but I’m sticking to Easter). During my auto fast, I’m allowed to drive my car on Sundays, which is another issue hotly debated among Catholics. I’m not religious, so instead of giving up a sin for Lent, my twist is that I’m giving up a financial sin.

Owning a car is a financial sin? One calculation shows that driving takes $7,095 out of my community each year. Not only is that a lot of money leaving my pocket, it is a lot of money leaving my community. By riding my bike, I’m improving my health and reducing my pollution output. By taking the bus, I’m supporting local economy. By taking a taxi, I’m really supporting the local economy.

Just one problem. During my auto fast I have a business trip to Los Angeles. I no longer have a functioning bicycle in Los Angeles, so I may have to rely on buses. Or, I could exclude business needs from my fast, just like I did during my no-spend month, which means I could rent a car in Los Angeles.

Would renting a car on a business trip during my auto fast be cheating?

This post was brought to you by Diesel Link. For even more Fuel savings use a Fuel Card, Diesel Link have a wide range of fuel cards to choose from.

A company called MyGallons.com offers regular drivers like you and me an intriguing way to save money. Buy gasoline at today’s rates and then use the fuel as needed. It sounds like a huge money-saving opportunity, but the process is semi-complicated.

You pay MyGallons upfront for the gas, including a 6-cent per gallon surcharge MyGallons takes to cover costs, then fill up at any station. MyGallons reimburses you for as many gallons as you pre-purchased.There are multiple ways to get reimbursed and you can buy as many – or as little – gasoline as you like. Joining costs $30 for one vehicle, plus $10 per year for each additional vehicle (up to 4).

Would you hedge your bets against rising gas prices with MyGallons? First consider these factors.

Pros

Ends result is great if the cost of gas goes up. The more prices rise, the more you save!

Even if gas rises only a few cents, yearly savings add up.

You can fill up at any gas station and MyGallons will reimburse you.

You can get reimbursed online or pay $5 for a debit card that you can use at any pump. (Its unclear how you get reimbursed if you pay with a debit card and the price at the pump is higher than what you locked in with MyGallons. I’m checking and will update when I hear back.) UPDATE: You don’t actually get reimbursed if you pay with a debit card. Instead, when you want to buy gas you request a debit card from MyGallons for say, 20 gallons. MyGallons checks its current gas price for your state, multiples that by how many gallons you requested, subtracts fees, and sends you the gift card, which you can then use at any pump.

You can use MyGallons for your boat or airplane.

Interested customers left probing questions on the MyGallons Facebook page. The company’s response, and the fact that it didn’t delete them outright, builds my confidence.

Cons

If gas prices fall, you lose. Your money is locked in.

You pay upfront for the gas, so hundreds if not thousands of your dollars are locked up in gas.

Buying a big ticket item (thousands of gallons of gas) from a newish company makes me a little nervous.

If you chose to get reimbursed online, you have to do so within 30 days of the gas purchase. Tell MyGallons how much you bought, and it will “multiply the number of gallons by the current MyGallons Price for your state” and deposit the money into your account electronically. How does MyGallons set the price for my state? What if it is lower than what I paid? I did a quick comparison of MyGallons gas prices and AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

My Gallons –> AAA

RI $3.23 –> $3.21

NY $3.27 –> $3.37

CA $3.59 –> $3.40

FL $3.16 –> $3.12

TX $3.07 –> $2.95

In four out of these five states, the MyGallons gas price was higher than AAA, which indicates the site is generous with reimbursement prices.

Still not convinced? You’re not the only one. Something about hedging my bets against a volatile product like gasoline makes me nervous. MyGallons provides this money-back guarantee:

If for any reason you change your mind within 30 days of joining MyGallons, you may cancel and receive a full refund of your membership fee and we will process a return for your unused gallons.

If you’re interested, you can set up a test with MyGallons for a small amount of gas. If you’re not happy, make good use of the company’s money-back guarantee.

juan23for/flickr

By Mike Barclay of 10centsworth.com

If taking a few minutes to implement organization habits saved you money each day, would you take clutter more seriously? I’ve come up with two categories of organization that have made my life easier and saved me money.

Filing

I started filing my coupons by expiration date. I’m always forgetting where I put the coupons, and when I find them they’re already expired. As far as saving money goes, we know that using coupons is one of the easiest way to save when buying fast food or groceries. What is so difficult about having a filing container where you can keep track of coupons? If you know where they are and when they expire, chances are you’ll use them.

I’ve heard it from my Dad and from personal financial blogs that there is value to saving your receipts. Grab a file folder for each month of the year, save all the receipts, and then highlight the date so it’s easy to see before you toss them in. You might not be an accountant or know every deduction you could be taking, but saving the receipts will help whoever does your taxes figure out where you could be getting a big tax check when April 15th rolls around.

Time Management

Time is money, right? Then why do we spend so much “money” aimlessly? For example, the other day I drove to Walgreens, Walmart, Costco and Smiths. I did it two ways. The first involved driving from memory without advance planning. When I finished the trip, I’d driven 34 miles. Then I went back to the starting point, and mapped out a route using Google. I could have done the same route in 20 miles! My car gets roughly 20 miles to the gallon, so I could have saved 3/4 of a gallon, or about $2 at the average national gas price of $3. Driving that much extra every day adds up to wasting about $14 a week or $728 a year.

And while we’re on the topic of kids and errands; have you ever wanted to be in two places at once? What if you could? Well, not you physically, but what if you could get two things done at once? Barter with your neighbors! If you’ve both got kids, carpool with them and swap for something else. Maybe you take care of their dogs while they drop the kids off at the after-school activities. My hourly rate is around $10 an hour. If I had to walk the dogs (30 minutes) and then take the kids to their after-school activity (30 minutes) I’m spending a full hour, or $10 of my time. If this happens on a daily basis, that $10 becomes $70 in a week’s time. If my neighbor and I agreed that I would take her kids to the activity and she’d take care of the dogs, suddenly I’ve cut my losses in half and can spend the other half hour on something that’s productive.

Between these two examples, I’ve shown you how to save $100 on a weekly basis by planning and organizing your time more effectively. Everyone’s schedule is different, but if you get into the habit of organizing your time, you’ll start to notice your days are more productive and you’ll see the savings in your bank account as well.

What do you do to use your time effectively?