Budget 2015: Fuel duty to remain frozen - how to cut costs further

The Chancellor George Osborne today announced that the planned September fuel duty rise will be cancelled.

It means fuel duty has been frozen since March 2011. Of course, the announcement doesn't mean prices are coming down – but over the recent months the price has dropped – just that the tax won't rise.

It's possible to drive down costs further

The easiest way to find the cheapest forecourt in your area for petrol, diesel, LPG and more is by comparing prices at free website PetrolPrices.com.

After registering, enter your postcode and tell it how far you're willing to travel (2, 5, 10, 15 or 20 miles) and it'll list today's cheapest petrol stations in your area for unleaded, diesel, LPG and other fuels. A quick check before you need to fill up should be enough to save you serious cash.

According to the latest figures from Petrolprices.com, the average UK price for diesel was 118.26p/litre on Tuesday, while the cost of unleaded petrol stood at 112p/litre.

See our Cheap Petrol and Diesel guide to cut prices and improve fuel efficiency further, but here's a quick summary:

• Keep your tyres inflated – lower tyre pressure increases the drag on a car, meaning you need more fuel.

• Declutter your car – the lighter your car is, the less effort it needs to accelerate.

• Take your roof-rack off – a roof rack, even unused, adds wind resistance to a car, increasing drag and making the engine work harder.

• Turn off air con at lower speeds – air conditioning still uses an incredible amount of fuel, so make sure it's turned off unless you really need it.

• Don't fill up your tank to the max – fuel is heavy so the less fuel your car has, the more efficient it drives.