Here is the thing about gas, it is expensive everywhere. When it is time to fill up on gas, yes it is smart to go to where it is cheaper, but not smart if you are driving 5 miles away from your house.
Before the summer started I found out about GasBuddy. GasBuddy is a company that lets anybody report on gas prices in your area. When you report on the price, you will earn points that will help you complete challenges that will earn you cash that you can use when you fill up.
I drive a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, every other weekend, I drive 43 minutes to Orchard Park to work for 16 hours the entire weekend. With my rate it is good pay for a weekend, except that’s the only pay I will get because of my availability.
The last time I filled my gas without using GasBuddy, I paid $85.28 to fill my entire tank. Long story short, there goes my paycheck. The last time I filled my tank using GasBuddy, I paid $46.26. Funny enough, I went to the same gas station, Seneca One in Irving, NY.
With GasBuddy, you can save up to 25 cents per gallon when you use their gas card. When you sign up with a GasBuddy account, they will send you a Wex card that serves as a debit card. Your account will be attached to a checking account so when you use the card, you are paying through your checking account.
When it is time to go fill your tank, here are some steps you can take when you use GasBuddy.
- Open the GasBuddy app, and tap on the “Find Gas” button, and you can scroll through the list of stations and how far away they are from you.
- Choose a station to go to and drive there.
- Once you get to the station, click on the price and you will be prompted to correct the prices of the regular, midgrade, premium and diesel prices, then click “submit price”
- After you have made the corrections, you will earn points which will help you to complete challenges and move up levels.
- Before you fill up, click on the station and choose “Activate Discount”. After that you can insert your card, enter in your driver ID (which is a 4 digit pin you make when you get your WEX card), choose your gas and start filling up.
- Make sure to collect your receipt at the end, it is important not just for record keeping but you can earn money with your receipts. That will be explained in a later post!
Here is a screen recording of when I filled up, hopefully the video is easy to follow if the written instructions are confusing.
I hope I am able to save you all money, and even give you new ideas on how to save. The next post will be about why you should save your receipts.