3 Easy Tips to Save Big at the Pump

— -- The average U.S. family spends about $2,500 at the pump, but for families with busy children or long commutes, that figure may double or even triple.

“GMA” on the Money looked into ways that you can save money while you’re on the go.

We caught up with the Ollenbergers from California. Sarah and David Ollenberger have three busy children who need to be taken to tutoring and basketball practice. David has a 5 a.m. wake-up call in order to avoid traffic.

Added to all of that, the family really likes to take spur-of-the-moment road trips.

“Our family really does love to travel,” Sarah, who runs the blog juggliningheels.com, said. “We spend anywhere from about probably $650 to $800 a month on gas … there's a lot of other really great things we could be putting that money toward.”

“GMA” on the Money brought in transportation expert Dave Skaien of the American Automobile Association to teach the Ollenbergers some shortcut to saving big bucks.

Tip 1: Optimize driving habits with gadgets like Automatic, an app and plug-in adapter. Connected by Bluetooth to your smartphone, it tracks your driving technique and chirps when you brake too hard or accelerate too fast, which burns more fuel. Automatic can also log how much money you spend on fuel every time you drive so you can budget better. It tells the Ollenbergers that they can save 30 percent on fuel costs.

Tip 2: Battle traffic using apps such as Waze or Google Maps. They tell you how quickly or slowly traffic is moving so you can avoid the jam.

Idling your car for just 10 minutes as cost as much as it would to drive 5 miles, according to Skaien.

“Just shut off the car whenever it’s safe to do so,” he said.

Tip 3: Pay cash. Some stations charge less – sometimes as a 20 percent less – if you don’t use a credit card. You can use GasBuddy, an app, to find the stations.

“Use an app to find the cheapest gas in town and pay with cash wherever possible to lower your expenses,” Skaien said.

Armed with all of these tips, Skaien said the Ollenbergers could save as much as $3,000 a year.