5 Ways To Cut The Cost Of Motoring

With the high cost of motoring it's tempting to ditch the car and see how much can be saved. Certainly the initial cost is expensive enough, then there's the insurance, fuel and maintenance to think about. Maybe ditching the car altogether is too extreme for some people as it's a necessity for their everyday lives (although I'd argue anyone in a city with a car is mad - why not just rent one when you need it?). So if getting rid of our car altogether is out of the question what else can we do to reduce the costs of car ownership? Well, I've pondered this question for some time now and have come up with the following obvious and not so obvious suggestions: 

1. Go easy on the accelerator - speeding away from the lights and slamming on the brakes mean you use excessive amounts of fuel.
2. Keep to a moderate speed - the government figures always quote consumption at 56 mph which may feel a little slow on motorways but sticking to a constant 60 - 65 mph isn't too bad.
3. Leave your car at home - OK you can't do this all the time but try a day or two a week not using the car and you will reduce your mileage and costs - if you can work from home this ought to be easy.
4. Keep the tyres correctly inflated - tyres will go down a little over time and when they do you use more fuel, so check they're OK once a month and top up if needed.
5. Share lifts with others - car-sharing very rarely gets off the ground when businesses and governments make a big deal of it and try to encourage people to do it but why not take the bull by the horns and offer someone you work with who lives close by a lift and see what happens.

OK, maybe all these are pretty obvious but how many of us can put up our hands and say we do all 5? Not many I'd imagine but they are so easy really and can make a significant contribution to saving money that can be used elsewhere.