Petrol prices have hit record highs in South Africa and that’s going to affect all of us.
After the recent price increases, the government has advised South Africans to drive less. There was a lot of comments on social media about the price, as well. Did you know, the government takes over R5 of the price you pay for a litre of petrol?
Just for fun, we looked at a whole lot of items that cost about the same as a litre of petrol:
A litre of long life milk
A 2-litre bottle of Coca-Cola
5-litre bottle of water
750ml cooking oil
A 250ml can of Red Bull Energy Drink
A kilogram of rice
The petrol price has increased quite a lot in Gauteng since January 2017 - 95 Unleaded has gone up from R13.33 in January 2017 to R15.20. So, to fill an 80-litre tank will cost an extra R150 and for 3 tanks in a month that’s an extra R450.
And Diesel has gone up in the same time from R11.44 to R14.18, that an increase of R2.75, so if you fill an 80-litre tank it costs you an extra R220, and 3 tanks a month costs you an extra R660.
READ MORE: The hidden costs of buying and owning a house
According to a research, it’s important to make sure your tyres are properly inflated.
Driving with under-inflated tyres can cause your car to burn more fuel.
This can be done for free at the petrol station
Did you know a car’s engine easily uses the most fuel when you accelerate hard? If you didn’t know, well now you do.
So try and accelerate away from a standstill as smoothly as possible. Be gentle with the pedal and don’t push it all the way to the floor.
It’s equally important to look ahead and pre-empt the flow of traffic. This way you can avoid hard braking and keep your rolling momentum going for longer.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. The higher you rev, the more fuel you will burn. Rev lower between each gear shift and you will certainly use less of the precious black stuff sloshing around in your tank.
Did you know things like roof racks and bike racks can ruin the fuel efficiency of your vehicle by creating unnecessary amounts aerodynamic drag?
It is advisable to take them off when you are not using the racks in order to get the most out of every drop of petrol.
The same goes for open windows, a sunroof and overloading your car with passengers.
Traffic is a nightmare and no one likes to be stuck in traffic, so if you can try to drive to and from work before or after rush hour sets in.
See if work will put you on flexi-time, you can only ask, and maybe they say yes.
The constant idling and stop-start driving conditions will send your fuel consumption through the roof.
Don’t cut corners when it comes to your car's maintenance
If your car is running on old engine oil, breathing through a clogged air filter and sucking petrol through a dirty fuel filter, it cannot be expected to perform at its total efficiency.
The air-conditioning unit in your car contains a compressor pump driven by the engine. When the air-con is used, the compressor uses power from your engine, thus increasing the work it has to do and the amount of fuel it needs to keep going.
So when you can, try and limit the use of your air-conditioner to maximise the mileage of every tank of fuel.
If you can use some of these tips to save petrol and put that little bit extra into the family budget, then do it.
READ MORE: Seven tips for saving money this winter
If you need debt assistance or a free debt review, contact RD Debt Counselling on 011 421 2918.
