Cut Your Car Costs: Simple Ways to Save Money on Transportation

Save Money on Your Current Expenses

Gas Rewards

If you’re already spending money on gas for your commute and travel, save money by getting a gas rewards card to a specific brand of gas station you frequently go to. You can also get a gas rewards credit card that will give you cash back or points for spending at gas stations.

Pick a Smarter Route

Pick a smarter route that will help you avoid toll roads and traffic. This could save you cash every time you travel, and it will save you time as well as gas.

Drive Smarter

If you practice smart driving habits, you can increase your car’s gas mileage and stop wasting gas. One of the easiest, most impactful changes you can make is to slow down. Driving at or slightly below the speed limit is often the sweet spot for gas mileage in most cars. When you speed, accelerate quickly, and brake heavily, you are wasting gas and therefore money. Additionally,  you can increase gas mileage by minimizing your air conditioning usage, removing extra weight like cargo you haul around everywhere, and taking off roof racks that increase drag. The further you can get on a tank of gas, the less often you have to fill up and the more money you can save.

Don’t Warm Your Car Up

You also don’t need to warm up your car before driving it in the winter. This doesn’t do anything for the car’s engine, it just wastes gas. Yes, you might need to wear your coat and gloves for a few minutes while the heat gets going, but you’ll be wearing them anyway for the walk to the car, and saving money by keeping them on a little longer.

Get Commuter Benefits

Check in with your HR department at work and see if they offer commuter benefits. Some companies offer discounted parking, reimbursements for public transportation, and other benefits specific to the type of commuting common in your area.

Reduce Your Overhead

Rent or Share a Car

Owning and operating a car comes with overhead expenses, such as the cost of buying the car, maintaining insurance, and getting regular maintenance.

To save money on your car, you could rent or share a car, instead of owning. There are flex car programs like Zipcar where you only pay for a car when you need to use it, instead of all the time, even if it’s just sitting in your driveway.

Make a Smart Vehicle Choice

If you do want to own a car, make a smart vehicle choice. Electric and hybrid cars are more fuel-efficient. Certain brands of cars, like domestic brands, are cheaper to maintain and buy parts for.

When you’re shopping for a car, you can also save money.

Buy Used

Buying a used car could save you thousands in depreciation. Often buying a car that is 4 years old means that the previous owner has suffered the losses of depreciation instead of you. But even buying a lightly used car that is just a year old means you don’t have to suffer the depreciation that happens immediately after driving a new car off the lot.

Shop Around For New

If you’re still set on buying a new car, make sure you shop around. You can have multiple dealerships bid against each other to get you as a customer. Additionally, always negotiate. You can negotiate the price, the warranty, and the value of your trade-in to get a better price on your new car.

Save on Insurance

Insurance is a large overhead cost of owning a car. To save on insurance, be sure to shop around and get several quotes from different insurance companies. You can also call and negotiate with your current insurance company, to see if they can reduce your rates. Be sure to ask about discounts, such as a safe driver discount. You can often get discounts for things like having an alarm system, being married, or taking a safe driver course.

If you have home and car insurance, consider bundling them to save even more. Typically, insurance companies will give you a discount if you consolidate all of your insurance policies with one company.

Lower Maintenance Costs

There are a few ways you can lower maintenance costs.

The first is by learning how to do a few simple maintenance tasks yourself. By keeping your tires inflated, you can save wear and tear that will make them last longer so you don’t have to purchase new tires as often. There are free air pumps at most gas stations that you can use. Just check your tires to see how much they should be inflated.

Additionally, changing your own oil is an easy task that will save you money. Be sure you’re using the right oil by reading your owner’s manual. Then learn how to change oil by watching a YouTube video. Once you see how easy it is, you won’t need to spend $40 at the auto shop for an oil change anymore.

Not everyone is going to be able to do every type of maintenance their car requires. But as a money-savvy car owner, you’re going to need to know what types of maintenance your car needs, and when it needs it. This way, you can make sure that you bring your car into the shop to get the maintenance done on time, which will save you money from costly fixes later!

Shorten Your Commute

One way to shorten your commute is to telecommute or work from home. A lot of people are already doing this right now during the pandemic! You can negotiate this full-time work from home, or just do it a few days a week. Either way, you’ll cut down your commuting costs.

Additionally, you could move closer to work. If moving was something you considered to reduce your housing costs, think about moving closer to your office. You’ll want to consider whether you could see yourself staying in your job for the long-term before you make this kind of move.

If you don’t see yourself staying at your job, perhaps find a different job. You could find a new job that will allow you to telecommute or one that is located closer to your current residence.

Even if you keep your commute exactly the same, consider leaving your house and the office at different times to avoid traffic. This will not only save you money, but it will also save you time and frustration too!

Finally, when you’re going out for errands, be sure to batch all your errands together on one day. That means going to the grocery store, dry cleaners, and post office in one trip. This way, you can take the most efficient route, and save money on gas. Plus, you’ll save time!

When you shorten your commute you can also save money on your insurance because you won’t be driving as many miles.

Change How You Get Places

Have you considered getting where you need to go by biking or public transportation? Depending on where you live, walking may even be a good option to get places. Biking and walking are also great exercise!

Some cities have robust public transportation, including trains, buses, and ferries. Oftentimes, public transportation will have commuter plans, which will save you money if you use it often. You’ll also save money on fuel, parking, and tolls by taking public transport instead.

Additionally, you could carpool. There are carpool services that you can pay for, or just get a group of friends or coworkers together and drive in the same car. You’ll be pitching in for gas and maybe maintenance, but it will save you money because everyone in the group is splitting those costs instead of you paying them yourself.