Petrol prices are a major concern for most Australians when they set their budget. If you feel like you’re suffering at the bowser, here’s the hard data: the capital city price for unleaded petrol rose by eight cents per litre over 2010-2011, with an average cost of $1.32 per litre. But which petrol retailers are usually the first to lift prices? More »
Tracking down the cheapest source of petrol is a common activity for budget-minded Aussies. Carsguide has launched a mobile-friendly petrol price tracker which shows the cost of various fuel types in your area. More »
Tactics to get petrol at the cheapest possible price can occupy a lot of time for the budget-minded consumer. While there are resources out there that can help, there are few long-term certainties. More »
A kilogram is always a kilogram, but despite that Australia doesn’t actually have a standardised system of measurement across all states. That will change next month, with potential money-saving benefits. More »
On the road, running low on petrol, and want to take advantage of those Everyday Rewards discounts you’ve stored up? The Woolworths Petrol site lets you find the nearest Caltex/Woolworths branch. More »
The ACCC has ruled that petrol promotions by Coles and Woolworths didn’t break competition law, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to see lots more “40 cents off per litre” discounts. More »
As part of his goal to get readers to save $1,000 in 30 days, personal finance blogger Ramit Sethi suggests setting up a personal fuel hedging fund to protect against rising petrol prices eating into your best intentions. His own method calls for figuring out what you were paying for petrol a month ago, setting up an automated bank sub-account, and transferring his monthly savings in gas costs to it. Setting a calendar reminder, he’ll check the cost of fuel in three months, and pull from the fund if needed, or drop more in if prices fall. If you’re not the type to save receipts, Sethi suggests an expense tracker like Mint to deliver your fuel costs to you. It’s basically an advanced means of tricking yourself into saving money, but a worthy one. Photo by ‘bert.
Use gas prices to become your own hedge fund [I Will Teach You to be Rich]US-centric – Free fuel-tracking service FuelFrog provides a service you could technically do yourself, but it’s a lot more convenient than keeping a paper journal and doing monthly division work. Whenever you fill up your car, you can Twitter FuelFrog with your miles since the last fill-up, price per gallon, and gallons pumped, and your data will be graphed and tracked to show you how many miles per gallon you’re getting. It can serve as visual reinforcement to start driving for fuel efficiency, or just a confirmation of your car’s real-world mileage. Fuelfrog [via Download Squad]
Drivers will be able to get daily updates of where to buy the cheapest petrol under a nationwide Fuelwatch scheme which will start in December. It will be run by watchdog the ACCC. You’ll be able to get the updates via SMS, email or at the website. WA’s run a similar scheme for years, according to The Age article. More »
