If you want to get the absolutely best gas prices in you area, there are a few tools you can use, thanks to modern technology. These tools will allow you to check daily gas prices for gas stations local to you. You can then go to the cheapest gas station for your fill up.
In this article, I’ll tell you about some of the most popular gas price checking tools and share my experiences using them.
I used to rely on friends to share tips on the best gas prices. The problem with that was the information was sometimes outdated. Well, there are now more than a few online networks of “friends” that you can tap into. People all across the country are keeping track of gas prices in their area and reporting these prices on a daily basis in online communities.
GasBuddy.com is one of the most well known gas checkers. You can input your zip code and it will give your customized list. Or you can browse by state or province. Although it claims to be the largest most comprehensive network of gas prices in the country, it couldn’t find anything at all for my zip code. And l live in a pretty populated area, just outside of Philadelphia.
GasPriceWatch.com is my favorite gas checking website. It is very easy to use, and can be customized in many ways. You can input your zip code, or do three other types of searches. You can also sort the information in different ways. One of the best features of this site is that it tells you exactly how old the price information is, and who posted it. That is a great bit of accountability that ensures prices as as accurate as can be. I was able to find low prices for ten local gas stations.
Gas Widget. If you happen to own a Mac with the current OSX operating system, you can download a gas checker widget. This widget is a window that sits on on your dashboard (desktop). It automatically goes out and delivers prices straight to your desktop, using criteria previously set by you. Widgets run high on the cool factor, and this one is actually practical, too. The current version (widgets are being upgraded all of the time) allows for information from nine local stations, ranked in order of price. Although there is no indication of when the information was late updated, in my experience, it was pretty accurate.
So what are you paying for gas these days? Is your area on the high end or low end? Please comment and let me know!
Related Articles:
Holiday Travel: How To Save Money On The Way To Grandma’s House
Holiday Travel: How To Save Money On The Way To Grandma’s House–Part 2