Despite lifting restrictions allowing open travel across the world, now might not be the time to plan a road trip. Between record-high inflation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict choking the world’s gas supply, filling up your tank has never been more expensive.
With inflation set to linger for the remainder of the year, drivers can’t expect relief anytime soon, even if they stick close to home. Add in the rising costs of insurance and repairs, and your car might take up a huge portion of your budget.
Ready to hit the brakes on your everyday expenses? Here are some ideas to help you spend less on your car.
Fill up for Less
Inflation can be felt anywhere you fill up your tank now that inflation and banned Russian oil have meddled with costs. According to the AAA, the national average has climbed to$4.18 per gallon.
If you’re facing similar prices at the pump, you need to be strategic about how and where you get gas. Rather than stopping by the nearest station to your house, use an app like GasBuddy or Dash to find the cheapest one in your area.
Surprisingly, Costco is often the cheapest source of gas, but don’t get a membership if you aren’t sure you’ll save more money than the cost of entrance. Crunch the numbers to see if it’s worth it.
Handling Maintenance and Repairs
Saving throughout the year is the easiest way to handle routine and unexpected repairs. You can set aside $50 a month, and by the time your annual tune-up arrives, you’ll have $600 to cover these expenses.
Of course, any driver knows there are a lot of issues that can come up in between scheduled maintenance. Maybe a rock chips your windshield while you’re driving on the highway, or your battery dies one day.
Bad luck like this can come out of nowhere and cost more than you’ve saved over the year. Without savings, most drivers will turn to a line of credit for help.
An online line of credit is a convenient safety net in urgent situations that you can pay off in increments when you can afford them. Best of all, once you pay off your balance, you’ll have access to withdraw from this line of credit again in the next emergency.
Tweak Your Auto Insurance
Unfortunately, inflation will impact insurance premiums, if not this year, then soon. Experian has an extensive guide on why that happens here. But let’s cut to the chase for those in a hurry — the why isn’t as important as how you’re going to deal with this monthly expense rising.
You always have the option of adjusting your deductibles to reduce what you pay. But all that does is delay the problem, as you may have to pay more the next time you have to use your insurance.
Instead, try shopping around for a better deal. If you work from home, you can leverage your zero-commute time to lower your prices. You can also try leveraging your time as a customer and spotless payment record to negotiate your prices.
The Takeaway:
You don’t have control over how high inflation gets this year, but you can do something about how you budget for everyday auto expenses. Remember these tips to reduce your insurance premiums, afford repairs, and save on gas.
