We know it's going to be hard to go an entire week without buying gas. You have to commute, pick up the kids, go to the store, etc. and that's what cars are for.

Luckily we have thought about it and found some of the best ways to make it through a full week without paying a dime for gas.

Car companies are pretty smart. Most have figured out how to program their cars onboard computers to get the best fuel efficiency while using cruise control. User testing showed that using cruise control as opposed to trying to get the best mileage out of your car yourself saved anywhere from 8-12% on fuel economy. Try it!
 

Most people step on the gas and get up to speed in their car fairly quickly after coming to a red light. It's just how we learn to drive to keep up with the pace of the cars around us.

Recent testing shows that the same driver, using the same car, which allowed the car to go from 0-60 mph in 15 seconds as opposed to it's top performing 0-60 time of 7.8 seconds saved an average of 30% on fuel over 50 miles.

So how does lighter breaking come into effect here? It seems that when the driver was coming to a stop they applied the brakes at approximately 70% force on average. However when the brakes were applied earlier than usual to come to a stop, with an average force of only 40% being applied it meant that the driver had to take his foot off the accelerator earlier, thus resulting in less fuel use.

If you come to a stop and expect to be there for more than one minute you should shut your car off to save gas. We tested 8 cars and found that shutting off the engine at red lights, in heavy traffic, fast-food drive-thru lines, and even waiting for trains to pass saved up to 21% with an average of 18% over a 20 mile trip.

Just be sure your car is reliable enough to start back up!