While there are many things that you can’t cut back on hugely without starting to suffer there are some that you can; your petrol usage being one of them.
The tips below will show you how to save money on petrol on a day to day basis.
Walk to nearby places
Most cars use more petrol per mile on start-stop journeys than they do on longer runs which means those short drives to the school or the shops or the gym really are petrol guzzlers. If you’re only going somewhere close then why not walk instead of drive? You might even find a few shortcuts that make it quicker to walk than to travel in the car, and after a few weeks you’ll start to feel the benefit in terms of your health as well.
Car share
If you work too far from home to walk then why not ask your work colleagues if anyone wants to car share. By doing this you only buy the petrol it takes you to get to work every other week, or, if there are 3 of you, then it’ll be every third week.
In other words, you could see your petrol bill drop by more than 50% just by asking around. You might also want to ask some of the parents that do the school run at the same time as you if they want to car pool i.e. you take their children to school one week and they take yours the following week. Again this is an easy ‘how to save money on petrol’ solution that often gets overlooked.
Use public transport
A lot of bus companies offer a range of tickets that allow you to travel for a week, month or even a year for a discounted price. For example, a weekly bus ticket might cost £18 while a monthly ticket could cost £45. Either way this is probably less than the cost of the petrol you put in your car, and you get unlimited travel for the duration of the ticket. Train companies do the same kind of deals which means if you regularly do a longer commute there’s a good chance you’ll save money by using the train rather than buying petrol (especially if you commute during the rush hour).
If you have no choice but to use the car
There will of course be occasions when you have no choice but to use your car. When these times arise you can still save money on petrol though. All you need to do is drive sensibly at a steady pace (no speeding), make sure your tyre pressures are as they should be, don’t overload the car and avoid harsh breaking/heavy accelerating.
So, now you know how to save money on petrol all you need to do is put a plan of action together and find your comfortable walking shoes.
Image Credit: By David Alejandro Rendón (talk · contribs) (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL via Wikimedia Commons