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Thong GirlI’ve seen more articles recently about people selling gold for gas cash. Old rings, old fillings and other jewelry have been sold to raise cash to help make ends meet.

At Craigslist the number of for-sale listings has soared 70 percent since last July. In March, the number of listings more than doubled to almost 15 million from the year-ago period.

I’ve seen it all before, the coin and stamp collections go, old DVDs and even grandma’s beloved teakettle, all to raise cash to pay the bills. But that is a flawed strategy.

Once all the stuff is sold on eBay and Craigslist, what do you sell next? Nothing. It is the same old problem that people face when they drain their savings and investment accounts to pay bills they can’t afford.

The shame is that the energy is misdirected at times like this. Sure, selling old Hermes leather jackets and Versace jeans will help, a bit, the real mission focus should be on addressing the primary problem of expenses exceeding income.

Unless you can get your life to fit within your income, the only thing that will happen is that you will sell all your crap and still be in the same, difficult and uncomfortable position.

I’m stunned watching how fast prices for gas and fuel are going up. Even the cost of items at the grocery store are rising faster than a good stock market investment.

In a recent trip to D.C. the price of gas went up 20¢ per gallon between the day I drove up and came back and that was only two days apart.

I learned that since I left the UK, less than a month ago, the price per liter for diesel fuel has risen almost 20% from £1.05 to £1.28. I hope you realize that a gallon of diesel in the UK now costs about $9.68.

I find myself being much more conscious when driving to increase fuel mileage. I’ll admit the driving tips and suggestions do not make you more manly, but they do make you richer. These are not things you’ll see them doing on the Speed channel or ESPN but having more money in the bank can make you feel just as virile.

Hypermilers

Hypermilers are MPG dorks. But learning some tricks from the Hypermilers, that really work hard, can significantly increase fuel mileage in the car you have right now. You don’t need to buy a Toyota Prius to start getting good mileage. In fact, even if you do buy a Prius, but don’t change your driving habits, you’ll be one of those people bitching about spending all the money for a Prius and not getting much better MPG.



Rather Than Sell Grandmas Gold Ring for Gas Money, Try These Tips

I admit, trying these changes to my driving style felt awkward at first but you can easily get used to it. Trust me, I’d rather feel like a dork and keep extra money in my pocket.

  • Don’t press the accelerator down more than an inch, unless you have to. This tip comes from a Chrysler engineer that says it will significantly reduce gas consumption.
  • Always make sure your tires are properly inflated.
  • Consider switching to a synthetic motor like AMSOIL that can reduce internal engine friction and give you a 5% increase in fuel mileage.
  • When you see the light change to yellow take your foot immediately off the gas and coast until you must apply the brakes to stop. Every second costing is forward motion you are not needing to use gas for.
  • When the light turns green, don’t be in such a rush to step on the gas. If you have a car with an automatic transmission, take your foot off the brake and let the car begin to move without hitting the gas pedal. Once it starts to move, then gently give it gas.
  • Once you get up to speed, use your cruise control to maintain speed. It is significantly more efficient than using your foot.
  • Don’t be afraid to use the air conditioning in your car at highway speed. It’s more efficient than having the windows down.

By following these tips you should be able to increase you mileage in the car you have right now by about 25% or more. If your car is currently getting a combined mileage of 17 MPG, you can be getting 22 MPG by this time next week. On a typical 15 gallon gas tank you can change your maximum range from 255 miles to 330 miles, for the same amount of money.

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