How to lower the cost of your car

For many different reasons, over the past few months you might have had cause to put a brake on your spending. If you’re looking to cut back in certain areas, what you spend on your car might be a good place to start. By making a few changes you could save yourself hundreds and steer yourself back on track with your money.

We’ve compiled the best and easiest ways to start saving money straight away. Take a look.

Change the way you drive

You might be surprised to know that by changing the way you drive you could save yourself hundreds of pounds every year. By that, we don’t just mean stop revving your engine (although that helps too).

Just stick to some (or all) of the things listed below, and watch you cost per mile fall:

• Turn off that air conditioning
• Take off the roof rack
• Make sure the tyres are at the right pressure
• Drive in the right gear
• Avoid areas where you’re likely to stop and start
• Don’t drive too fast
• Smoothly stop and start the car

 Shop for car insurance

It feels like there is a price comparison website for everything these days – car insurance is no exception. Comparing insurance prices available to you puts you in control and saves you a buck, too.

As a starter for ten, take a look at these two comparison sites:

• Compare the market
• Money supermarket

Cut the cost of fuel

With just a little bit of homework and having a shop around, this is a quick way to save money. Did you know that by saving just 5p per litre, the average driver can save £100 per year?

To check the lowest petrol prices in your area, you don’t need to get in your car and drive from place to place. Instead, the link above will do all the hard work for you. In some cases, the difference can be over 40p per litre!

Don’t forget, all our IVA and DMP customers using the Financial Wellness Group app (coming soon), or our online services can get themselves a Fuelpecker card. This can save you at least 3p per litre on petrol and diesel and all Esso garages.

Spread the cost of your car tax

Sometimes the annual cost of car tax can be a little too much to pay at once. If paying a lump sum puts you under financial stress, split the cost by making monthly payments.

For more information on how to do this, visit the gov.uk website.

Car sharing

At Financial Wellness Group we have a car sharing scheme. Maybe your work has something similar? With just one other person, you can cut your fuel costs in half. If you don’t have something like this at work, you can always try (once it’s safe again to do so) companies such as Liftshare. Here you can meet people in your area who are looking to travel to a similar destination.