When it comes to saving money, you have to figure out how to prioritize your wants and your needs. Particularly when it comes to transportation options, you probably have a lot of wiggle room to find ways to save some cash. It might take some reframing and restructuring on the part of your daily decisions, but once you get some new, money-saving patterns in place, you’ll quickly reap the benefits.
Take these four ways to save money on personal transportation to heart. First of all, you can trim the expenses associated with your car. Also, you can try taking public transit. Whenever possible, you can combine trips out together, which saves money on gas and gives you more time in the rest of your day. And finally, if you try to schedule your personal transportation journeys in advance, you can use cheaper methods to get back and forth from places because you’re not on such a tight deadline.
Trim Your Car Expenses
There are a few different ways to trim your car expenses. First of all, take a good hard look at your auto insurance. Have you visited Pretected to find the right kind of coverage for your driving habits, your vehicle, and your best balance between deductibles and monthly payments? If anything seems out of alignment, you can talk to your insurance broker about potentially reducing monthly fees. Also, paying attention to gas prices can help you cut away at monthly expenses.
Take Public Transit
If you live in an urban area, then you know how much time and money you save by taking public transit. You don’t have to fight traffic on your own. Prices for buses, trains, and subways are very reasonable, especially if you get long term commuter passes. You don’t have to pay for parking. The list goes on and on. All of that is saved money.
Combine Trips
If you know that you have to go three or four places the next time you go out, smartly combine them. Don’t leave your home, then come back to your home, and then leave again. If you figure out how to carpool with friends or family and all of you combine multiple trips into a single day trip, that is a tremendous amount of time and money savings.
Stretch Out Your Timeline
A final great way to save money by paying attention to your personal transportation options is to extend your timelines as far as getting to and from places. If you only have 15 minutes to go somewhere and come back, you may have to rush with a car. But, you can plan on walking or biking to a location if you know that you have more time to do it. It’s just a matter of scheduling your activities. Your time budget turns into your financial budget.