海角大神

Depending on the specific model, your car loses 1-2% fuel efficiency for every 100 pounds of extra weight in the car. That鈥檚 a surprising amount that can really add up.

For example, let鈥檚 say you鈥檙e matching the extra weight that a friend of mine (who we鈥檒l call Cathy) carries in her car. She consistently carries (mostly) unused car seats in the back seat of your car, plus she hauls around a box of books in the trunk along with a few other excess items. The sum total of that extra load is about 70 pounds.

That means, depending on the model, Cathy is burning an extra 0.7 to 1.4% in gas just due to this extra weight. Let鈥檚 say it鈥檚 1%.

If her car gets 20 miles to the gallon with the weight in it and she commutes, putting 20,000 miles on it per year, she鈥檚 burning 9.9 extra gallons of gas per year just due to carrying the extra junk.

Say goodbye to $33 or so a year in just fuel costs, Cathy, never mind the additional wear on all of your car鈥檚 components.

Even a slight difference of just ten pounds can have a real financial impact. Let鈥檚 say you鈥檙e driving the same car Cathy is, where you鈥檙e getting 20 miles to the gallon and you鈥檙e driving 20,000 miles per year. That 0.15% in additional weight is eating up 1.5 gallons in gas per year, costing you about $5 in additional fuel along with slight additional wear on your car.

The message here is clear: get the excess weight out of your car.

How can you do that? Simply make sure that you鈥檙e not carrying anything unnecessary in your trunk or your backseat. Evaluate what鈥檚 in there and get rid of the things that you don鈥檛 need to be carrying back and forth.

I鈥檓 constantly amazed at the things people carry in their trunk, from huge assortments of shoes to large gun cases. These things add weight to the car and you pay for that weight directly at the fuel pump and indirectly whenever you get maintenance work done on your car or need a repair done.

There鈥檚 only one exception to this rule that I鈥檝e found. If you鈥檙e seeing any chance of icy roads, it鈥檚 worthwhile to have extra weight in your car because it improves your traction and keeps you safe. I often carry that extra weight in the form of sand bags or rock salt, both of which can help you in a rough winter situation. The extra safety is well worth losing a few percent in fuel efficiency for a season.

Aside from that, you鈥檙e only saving money and helping your automobile鈥檚 lifespan by reducing the load you鈥檙e carrying. If you鈥檙e not hauling it around for a purpose, don鈥檛 haul it around.

This post is part of a yearlong series called 鈥�365 Ways to Live Cheap (Revisited),鈥� in which I鈥檓 revisiting the entries from my book 鈥�,鈥� which is available and at bookstores everywhere.聽