The idea of not paying full price for the gas you put into your car sounds appealing doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want to save with gas prices that don’t seem to be dropping anytime soon? So consumers are constantly looking for ways to save at the pump. Some people are looking to gas buying clubs as one option to save some cash.
It starts with a membership. You sign into the website and fill out the usual information: name, address, city, state, zip. Your also provide a credit or debit card number that you are going to use to make the upfront purchases with. Most of the time there is a fee for membership for the first vehicle. Additional vehicles can be added for an extra cost.
You decide how many gallons you want to pre-purchase at the current price. You will immediately pay for these gallons so make sure you are prepares for the upfront cost. Different clubs have different specifications when it comes to how much you need to purchase at one time. You make the purchase on the assumption that gas prices are going to rise in the future.
Now you wait. You wait for gas prices to rise and when the do you can cash in on the pre-purchased fuel price. Choose to have the money added to a debit card or directly deposited into your checking account. There is usually a fee for the debit card, so take that into consideration when calculating the amount that you are paying versus that amount you are saving. If you are considering this option you may want to document the process so that you get a clear picture of money spent and the money saved.
When gas prices rise you can use your gallons. Log into the site, record that gallons that you used and you will get the difference in cost deposited into your checking account. It is important to keep track of the number of gallons you have purchased and what you have used. The real question is whether or not this is a real money saving tool.
In most cases there is a lot of work involved in order to save a little bit of money. You sign up and pay a fee. You ask for the debit card, you pay a fee. Before you see even the first penny of savings you may have already paid somewhere around $35. Now you need to save at least this amount in order to break even. For most families, $35 with only the hope of savings (there is no real guarantee) this isn`t worth the initial investment.
While gas prices are fluctuating there is no way of really knowing what is going to happen in the future and how that will affect gas prices. You are in a sense gambling on the fact that the price might go up. Because you are pre-paying for the gas you have also tied up money that could be used for other things or just be sitting in your savings account in case you need it.
When all is said and done each consumer needs to look into a gas buying club for his or herself. A family’s budget may be what determines whether or not this is a good deal. If your financial situation is precarious and you are in the situation of looking for a loan for bad credit this may not be the right choice for you.