If you're trying to budget your money better, you’ve come to the right place. Vehicle and transportation costs are often overlooked during budgeting. Which means, the fact that you’re reading this makes you one step ahead of the pack. Good job! Now, here are your 9 ways you can cut transportation costs and save money on your budget.
9 ways to better budget your money by cutting transportation costs
Be more fuel efficient
To start, this is probably the easiest thing you can do to cut some costs. There are three main things you can do to make your car more fuel efficient. First, slow down. Cruise control can be your best friend if you find yourself with a lead foot. Second, roll your windows down. The A/C uses a lot more gas than the wind resistance from having your windows down. Lastly, drive more carefully! Accelerating quickly, braking suddenly, or swerving randomly decreases your gas mileage significantly.
Take public transit
While it's true not every city is great for public transit, if your city has any type of public transportation system, it’s worth looking into. Generally, passes are annual and are a lot less expensive than a car payment plus insurance plus gas and service.
Avoid toll roads
If you drive a toll road frequently, you’re probably wasting a lot of money. By leaving a little earlier and taking a slightly longer route, your savings could add up.
Ride a bike or walk
Bikes can get you a long way and it’s a great way to get your workout in for the day too. Maybe you can even get rid of your gym membership and save even more!
Carpool
Can you imagine only using gas one week out of the month. If you set up a carpool with four people and rotate who drives each week that’s a lot of savings. Even if you do every other week with just one friend from work, that can still make it easier to budget your money better!
Ditch the truck, get something smaller
If you have a truck or an SUV you’re probably paying more for gas, insurance, registration, and a car payment if you have one. By getting a smaller vehicle you could save a lot of money across the board when it comes to transportation. And don’t let car seats stop you. One of my best friends has three kids under 3 years old in a Hyundai Elantra which is not a very large vehicle.
1 car is less expensive than 2
If you can reduce the number of cars you own, you’ll automatically save money with insurance, registration, gas, and normal wear and tear. Going from three cars to two, or two cars to one is possible if you make a plan.
Trade something new for something used
Usually new cars are more expensive in their payment plans, registration, and insurance. Trading down for something a few years older can help you save quite a bit. If possible, buy something so cheap you don’t need to finance it. Not having a car payment can really help you budget better and save money
Service it regularly
Whatever car you have, you should take care of it. Keep it clean, both inside and out. Change the oil, watch for leaks, keep the fluids at a decent level. If you keep your car taken care of, you’ll have fewer failings, and less overhead costs. Even better, you can find info on how to do all of this on YouTube or somewhere on the internet. If you do it yourself, you’ll save even more
Now you have 9 great tips that can help you better budget your money when it comes to transportation. If you’re serious about saving money, sometimes you need to make serious changes to the way you live. All of these tips can help to varying degrees so take some time to plan out what would be most effective for you.
And if you need any help with getting new tires or wheels, Kornerstone Credit can help with low monthly payments over the course of a twelve-month contract. Call us for more information!
sources:
https://www.moneycrashers.com/save-transportation-costs/
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/21-ways-to-save-money-on-_b_8297870
