25. Buy a hybrid car
Here’s another big-ticket item: Consider replacing a gas-guzzling car with a far more efficient one, such as a hybrid vehicle. These vehicles do often cost more than others you might be considering buying, but if you drive them a lot, their price premium will be offset by fuel savings — especially at times when the cost of gas is high. Imagine, for example, that you’re thinking of buying a $24,000 hybrid car that gets 50 miles per gallon and trading in your conventional car (with a trade-in value of $18,000) that gets 26 miles per gallon.
According to a calculator at Edmunds.com, if gas costs $2.80 per gallon and you drive 15,000 miles per year, you will save $65 in gas each month and it will take 93 months (that’s 7.75 years) to break even. If gas prices are $3.50 per gallon, though, your monthly savings jump to $81 and the breakeven point becomes only 74 months, or about six years.