Even in these times of rising petrol prices,and often through slowness to act or not recognising an issue, many of us do not regularly review the recurring and the hidden costs in our household spending that could be substantially reduced. A significant part of that expenditure is on motoring which, according to the Bureau of Labor statistics show that in the US nearly 50% of household bills are for housing (33%)and transportation(17%) .
According to recent figures from the Office of National Statistics in the UK 65-to-74-year-old households spent nearly a fifth (18%) of total spending on recreation and culture, making this the top expenditure category for this age group.A significant portion of this spend is on motoring costs.
There is a great opportunity to save good money here. Top things to do are:
- Drive more efficientally – driving habits that creep over very many years can mean we are wasting fuel every time we drive.Pressing the accelerator when switching on the ignition is unnecessary.Most modern cars do not need an acceleration boost to get started like earlier models required. Also, aggressive braking is unnecessary, wherever necessary the car should be allowed to slow itself down smoothly.
- Do simple maintenance checks – see that the oil level is checked regularly.Tyre wear will be reduced if the correct pressure is maintained, and upto 20% saving in fuel use can be made if the air filter is properly checked-out at the annual service (of course don’t skip this service!)
- Avoid auto-renewal of insurance – it has been shown that people like you and me who have been with the same company for years will pay more than others who don’t. If you are not doing the mileages you used to do then don’t give an overestimation of your annual mileage (but do make sure you are unlikely to do more than the mileage estimate you provide)otherwise you will pay more premium than you should.The Association of British Insurers recently reported that Average motor premium paid rose by 9% in 2017 to a record high, adding an extra £40 to the average motor insurance policy.
- Lose the roof rack and declutter your car – otherwise, over time you will collect and carry additional weight which will adversely impact on your fuel consumption.
- Shop around for fuel – find your local station prices by using sites like petrolprices.com for the keenest prices.There are wide price variations and you can avoid paying more than you need to quite easily by shopping around. One tip is not to buy premium grade fuel go for the cheaper standard grade.No one but your pocket will know.
- Plan your route – in this way you avoid the times of heaviest traffic and travel the most direct way.There are good maps tailored to your journey that you can obtain free online from motoring organisations like the RAC.
- Try car sharing with friends – apart from sharing the cost of travel this can increase your social interaction enabling you to stay connected with people.
- Walk or cycle more if you can – a good walk will aid both brain and physical fitness.Try to fit a walk or cycle into you daily routine for tasks like shopping, or for the pure pleasure of the outdoors.Nothing works better towards developing and keeping a good habit than measuring your achievements.So have a simple pedometer with you every day and note the number of steps you take during your walks.Then make a record of the distances you cover together with your overall daily steps.This will help you maintain consistency of effort each day.