When the air is frosty and you’d rather stay cuddled up in bed than venture out to your car in the morning, do you usually take the time to warm up your car before you head off? The truth is that apart from making you more comfortable, warming up your car for even five minutes is not really necessary, wastes your gas and money, and is just plain bad for the environment.

You probably don’t want to hear this if it’s super cold but the best way to warm up your car takes less than a minute before you drive off. That means a shivery start if the aircon doesn’t kick in super fast! Most modern engines are advanced enough that they more or less do fine from a cold start.

Here’s what frugal zeitgeist recommends:

1. Get into your car. Turn the ignition on but don’t start the engine just yet.
2. In 3-5 seconds, you should hear the fuel pump priming the engine. Start the car when this happens.
3. Idle for about 10-20 seconds at the most.
4. Slowly ease out of your parking spot and ease into driving.

So make sure you bundle up on the cold mornings. There’s no need to waste your gas warming up your car if you can stay warm yourself!

To read more, head over to frugal zeitgeist’s How To Warm Up Car Properly.