Before trying to increase your gas mileage using "miracle" fuel additives, "water for gas" products, or trying the extreme mesures taken by hypermilers, make sure you have the basics for maximizing gas mileage taken care of. Anyone can do this and it costs nothing!

• Remove any unnecessary items in the car to reduce weight
• Keep the tires properly inflated.
• Use cruise control on the freeways
• Stay at or 5 miles an hour below the speed limit.
• Stay 3 seconds behind cars on the freeway to get the drafting effect
• Drive with the windows up for better aerodynamics
• Avoid fast starts and quick stops
• Watch for traffic patterns on your way to work. Adjust your drive time by a few minutes if it will help avoid traffic congestion and excessive idling in traffic.
• Plan ahead on shopping trips. Try to aviod making several trips to and from your home to the store. Combine them into one trip.

The next level of increasing your gas mileage does cost a little, but it is part of regular car maintenance, so it won't really add to your budget.

• Switch to synthetic oil. Synthetic oil doesn't bread down as fast as conventional oil. You'll have less friction and heat in the engine, translating into more gas mileage.
• Replace spark plugs and wires every 25,000 miles. This will keep your engine burning gas a completely as possible.
• When it's time for new tires, look for tires designed for better gas mileage
• Keep a clean air filter, replace it every 12,000 miles.

Once you have maxed out the basics, there are a few more things you can do to get the most from your gas dollar.

• Purchase a cold air intake and high flow washable air filter. The combination of cold air intake and high flow air filter can translate into more hp and fuel economy.
• Install a gas mileage meter. The meter will show you where you get the best mileage and what habits decrease gas mileage.
• Start reading forums and sites devoted to maximizing gas mileage.

• Take advantage of any cash back offers on credit cards by using them when you buy gas. Just be sure to pay off the card at the end of the month. There are debit cards that behave like a credit card. Use the debit card at the checkout, but push "credit" instead of "debit". The money is directly pulled from your account, but you get the the points or cash back as though you had used a credit card. Check with your bank to see if they honor using a debit cards in this way.

Finally, be wary of any gas mileage products, pills, or "free gas" coupons/vouchers seen in ads or on auction sites. If you search the web with the product or coupon name and add "+scam" in the search, you'll trun up a long list of people reviewing or complaing about these things. Some of these "miracles" will actually decrease your gas mileage and possibly void your car warranty. As for the "free gas" coupons or vouchers, always try to read the fine print and figure out what they want in return. You're never going to get something for nothing!