Money savings can be as close as your driveway

If you’re one of those organized people who saved money for Christmas, have all your shopping done and stayed on budget, good on you.

More likely, however, you’ll be looking for ways to pay off all of that holiday generosity once those credit card statements start rolling in come January.

Saving money is always a good idea, but especially when it’s time to pay off bills.

A good place to start is sitting in your driveway; more specifically the driver’s seat of your car or truck.

GasBuddy, analyzed data from its free app on 140,000 individual trips and found that a lot of fuel was wasted by bad habits such as hard acceleration and hard braking — the latter being the most common.

The Energy Information Agency offers some simple strategies for saving money:

* Drive less by planning ahead and combining trips. Consider walking instead of driving, or pull the bicycle out of the shed on nice days for some healthy exercise.

* Warm up your car for shorter lengths of time. Thirty seconds to a minute maximum should be enough for a modern car.

* Purchase gas early or late in the day during warm months to get denser gasoline and more for your money. Plus, gasoline prices are typically lower earlier in the week.

* Slow down and drive steady. Higher speeds mean more drag and fuel consumption, and applying brakes wastes the fuel it took to get you moving, as well as wearing out the brake pads. Maintain more distance between you and the car ahead to avoid hard braking.

* Shut off the engine when you’re waiting somewhere for more than a minute.

* Close your windows and remove unneeded bike racks or luggage carriers to cut wind resistance.

* Buy gasoline away from the interstate for better prices.

* Keep enough fuel in your tank so you can drive to the station offering the best deal.

* Keep your tires inflated correctly to improve mileage and avoid wear. Check often, especially when temperatures change with the seasons.

* Tune up the engine, use the correct motor oil and change filters regularly.

* Park in the shade to avoid running the air conditioner as much as possible.

* If you have a manual transmission, shift up early and shift down late to save on fuel, and shift into neutral when the car is standing still.

* Use cruise control to manage your speed and conserve fuel.

* Choose the route with the fewest stop signs and traffic lights for better fuel efficiency.

* Fill up in a state with lower fuel taxes if possible.

* Consider fuel efficiency next time you buy a different car.

* Download an app to help save gas by showing when and where you wasted or saved fuel.