1. Use the Internet to compare prices.
2. Use a credit card that gives you a rebate on gas.
3. Consolidate errands to drive less.
4. Keep your tires inflated and your windows closed.

The cheapest prices are often in less affluent neighborhoods and far from freeway exits, according to MSN's "12 Ways to Find Cheaper Gas." Membership warehouse stores often have the cheapest fuel around and sometimes big discount stores will use low-priced gas to lure customers onto their lots. Here are some options for price comparisons:

1. Gas Buddy
   • Has the most stations listed over a network of 181 websites, in both the U.S. and Canada.
   • The gas stations are arranged by the lowest price to the highest.
2. MSN Autos Local Gas Prices
   • MSN updates their gas station prices every day with overnight information from over 90,000 stations in the U.S., but their partner OPISNet (Oil Price Information System Net) draws prices from credit card statements, so while some prices are current, others lag by 2-3 days.
   • Not all nearby stations are listed. Since the cheapest prices are often "cash-only," the cheapest stations are left out of this list.
3. Motor Trend Gas Prices
   • Similar to MSN as it uses OPISNet. The Motor Trend site suffers the same drawback: because the prices are culled from credit card receipts, cheap stations that offer better prices for cash are not listed.
     
4. Gas Price Watch
   • Gas Price Watch, or GPW, takes a little longer to load and you must enter a city and state, not a zip code. GPW color codes its gas prices to let you know if they've been verified in the last 12 hours, 24 hours or more.
   • Google Maps are used, but the prices have a tendency to appear and disappear. GPW uses "spotters" (their 165,000 registered members) to update prices, like Gas Buddy does.
5. Fuel Me Up
   • Fuel Me Up claims to update their prices three times a day, but some prices are several days old. If you use this site, be sure to scroll to the end of the first 10 stations shown, and click on the "Show All Stations" option. You won't get all stations, but you will get a larger selection.
6. Internet Auto Guide Gas Prices
   • This site gives you the prices of all grades of gas—a rarity.
   • The lowest prices are marked, but the list doesn't give them in order. 
7. Mapquest 
   • Mapquest needs only a zip code to find gas stations in your vicinity.
   • Bad news: you'll get only a half-dozen stations in your neighborhood.
   • Good news: those stations have really low prices.
   • An added bonus: Mapquest includes a Gas Price Calculator to tell you you how far your fill-up will take you.
8. Automotive.com Gas Prices
   • Unlike the other sites, the list of stations at Automotive.com is arranged with stations in your zip code appearing first, regardless of price though the lowest price is marked.
   • This site excludes Arco stations from their list, but they do offer a Gas Price Widget so that you can enter your zip code and get prices without going to their site.

If you're a Mac user, download Apple Gas Widget onto your Mac to help you stay on top of gas prices. It draws its information from Gas Price Watch and links to Google Maps to help you find stations on your route. This widget even tells you how much mileage you'll get from the gas in your tank.

For PCs, use Gas Price Widget from Automotive.com. Sadly, the Widget doesn't include Arco, and some Yahoo Users have complained that it only works sporadically.

Many GPS devices are adding gas price searches to help drivers. GPS Lodge reviewed the following gadgets:

1. Garmin Nuvi 780 and Garmin Nuvi 680 use MSN Direct to search for gas stations and list the price of regular gas. The subscription to this service is $50 a year and comes through the FM airwaves.

2. Tom Tom Plus GO 920/920T uses Bluetooth to funnel gas prices to users, once you've signed up for the $20 per year subscription. The information comes through a Bluetooth-compatible phone.

3. Dash Express Connected GPS uses a built-in cellular radio to search for all gas prices.

4. MSN Streets and Trips 2008 offer a GPS navigation system and gas price updates that go to your laptop on an FM signal (no Internet connection needed).

Did you know that you can have gas prices texted to you? Here are other options to consider:

1. To get prices from Gas Buddy, text your zip code to gas@gasbuddy.com

2. Try the free beta service MobGas. Enter your mobile phone number on their website to access gas prices for up to five areas and receive SMS alerts when lower prices show up. From your phone, text your zip code to sms@mobgas.com.

1. The Auto Club has an online pdf version of their Gas Watcher's Guide, which offers tips on how to get the most out of every tank. Their experts recommend avoiding sudden stops and starts, using the "recirc" function on your AC and maintaining steady, moderate speeds. And get those bags of cement out of the trunk; the heavier the load you carry, the more gas your car uses.
   
2. Cars.com Tips for Saving Fuel also dispenses advice—and their first point is to carpool and share rides. They also remind you to keep your tires properly inflated, as underinflated tires waste fuel. Some other points:
   1. Keeping your engine tuned saves gas.
   2. Anything on the car roof is going to create wind resistance and lower your gas mileage.
   3. Driving with all the windows open creates so much drag that more gas is wasted than if you ran the air conditioner.
3. Federal Trade Commission Gas Savings Page reminds you that dirty, clogged air filters in your car can reduce mileage by up to 10 percent.
4. Cheat at Shopping Tips lets you know how to save money on gas by not topping off when you fill up and buying gas at non-brand name stations.
5. Snopes notes that you won't maximize your fuel economy by only filling up your tank half-way, pumping slowly, buying gas in the morning or avoiding the station while the tanker trunk is on site; the best way to save money on gas is to find the cheapest price and fill up regardless of the time of day.

You can save money with gas rebate credit cards. Here are a few things to think about according to the MSN article "Are Gas Rebate Credit Cards a Good Deal?":

1. Are the great rebates permanent or are they introductory offers?
2. No matter how great the deal is, the credit card companies can change the terms anytime. 
3. Some cards give lesser rebates at the big membership stores, like Costco or Sam's Club. If that's where you normally buy gas, check the credit card terms carefully.
4. If you leave unpaid balances on your card, you'll end up paying double and triple the savings in interest charges.
5. How are the rebates paid? Do you have to request them? Do they expire if you forget to request them? All these tricks can keep your earnings away from your wallet.

1. Pump and Save focuses exclusively on gas credit cards. The interest rates and bonuses on each card are laid out clearly, with links to online applications. 
2. CardRatings.com, especially their Gas Rebate Credit Card Page, also presents the basic information about the credit cards and their rebates with links to online applications. 

Both Pump and Save and CardRatings.com agree on the best card: Discover Open Road Card, which gives you five percent back on your gas purchases of up to $1,200 a year. After that, the rebate drops to one percent.

Thinking about trading in your gas guzzler for a new car?

1. Cars.com lists which new cars, trucks and SUVS have the best mileage—and the worst. 
2. The Kelly Blue Book Site allows you to choose and compare four new vehicle models at a time. Mileage is under "Quick Facts."
3. If a used car is more in your budget, the government's Fuel Economy Calculator gives you the mileage statistics for cars from the 1980s up to the past year.