5 Ways to Cut Down on Your Car Budget*

People often ask me how I afford to go to Disney so much, and my answer is.. I don’t run a car. Cars are expensive. And most people who have a car don’t have a brand new one that comes without problems. But there are ways to cut down your car budget and that extra money you can put away for a fantastic holiday, sound good?

Here are 5 of the best;

Don’t Drive Everywhere
Fuel is one of the biggest factors in car costs. The more you use your car, the more fuel you need and it’s set to get more expensive once Brexit has happened. But you don’t need to take your car everywhere. If the weather is nice, why not walk to the shops? Talk to people at work to see if there is a possibility of having a car pool? Or even see if you can have a car pool for the school run (lets face it, no one likes the mad rush for a space at the school gates!) Yes, a car is important for most people, but if there is anyway you can cut down on your car usage you will see yourself spending less on fuel.

Trade In
As I mentioned above, older cars tend to have more problems than newer models, so even though it can be costly to buy a new car, it might be worth trading in your older one before it starts costing you more than if you bought a new one. You can end up in a circle of mending your old car that costs a lot of money meaning you can’t buy a new car if you aren’t careful.

You could look into trading in for an electric car. More places are considering installing a charging point for electric cars and this is for multiple reasons such as reducing carbon footprint and the cost. This will also make it cheaper for you to charge your car while out and about as these specific points will be readily available for you.

Keep On Top Of Repairs
Older cars tend to cost the owner more as like any machine, they start to have mechanical problems as they age. However, if you keep on top of issues with your car it works out cheaper in the long run than leaving it until it breaks down on the side of the road. Ensuring your car is regularly serviced and passes it’s MOT once a year is one way to make sure all problems are sorted before they escalate. This winter give your car the extra care it deserves.

Compare Car Insurance
It’s not all about the car itself when it comes to saving money, the insurance is also incredibly expensive and depends on a lot of factors like your postcode, how old you are, how long you’ve been driving and if you’ve claimed before. To ensure you’re getting the best deal for your circumstance do an online search for a comparison site that will help you find an incurance policy that works for you. You never know how much you’ll save until you try it.

Can You Realistically Be a One Car Family
Nowadays, a lot of families have more than one car but is there a way you could look at becoming a one car household? Maybe look at carpooling, or buying a bicycle, or even using public transport. As costly as it can be to run one car, running two doubles that cost and if there was a way to only have one car think of all the money you’d save? My parents at one point had three cars to two drivers, after working out how much 3 x MOTs, 3 x Servicing, 3 x weekly fuel they worked out they could save for a holiday by only running 2.

I do understand, that not everyone is in a position like myself where they can be without a car but as i’ve shown you here, there are ways to make running a car cheaper. They don’t all work for everyone, but if they help one family, I’ll be happy.