It's ironic that you have a picture of a subway for this article! Unless you can give up your car or you are 1) riding alone and 2) expect to have to pay for parking at your destination, riding the subway is AS EXPENSIVE AS or MORE EXPENSIVE THAN driving!
Anyhow, our biggest savings come from three sources: I work from home, we plan our errands carefully, and we buy relatively inexpensive cars and keep them for a very long time. Also, our last car was a 4cyl automatic, so it gets 40 mpg and up without being a hybrid.
When we take the subway into D.C., we do it for convenience if we think we'll get trapped in rush hour traffic, but with three family members who have to pay plus parking expenses at the terminus, it's way cheaper, even on off peak tickets, to drive in and pay for parking there.
I don't have the most fuel efficient vehicle~ a 7 year old Chrysler Town & Country, purchased when I was still hauling loads of boys to soccer games. But it's paid for & in good shape, so I make the best of it. Fortunately, I work from home, so I don't have to drive every day!
I do a lot of shopping online (Amazon!) and have things delivered whenever possible. Even if I'm purchasing something locally, I do research online, so I can avoid running around to comparison shop.
My best fuel savings comes from combining trips when I do go out. I make a list of errands & plan my route to cover as many things as possible in the same area. I also keep up with routine maintenance & keep the tires inflated to keep my vehicle running as efficiently as possible.
I moved 12 miles closer to work last year and it's saved me not only money but lots of time on public transit, traffic, tolls, and crossing a bridge. Now I can walk to work and I do so a few times a week but I mostly take the bus. My employer has a pre-tax commuter benefit program too, where I can get my commute cost taken directly out of my paycheck and deposited onto my transit pass to avoid tax. It's a few hundred bucks in commuting expenses annually, so it saves me quite a bit per year!
Now that I am unemployed, I am very strategic in running errands so I can save on gas. I do a list on Sundays of things I need (groceries, etc.) and pick a day during the week when I am attending a meeting and coordinate my errands around the location of my meeting. Thus far, it's working. I have been unemployed one month as of yesterday.
I plan out my errands so that I drive in pretty much a circle. No back tracking, the most effective gas saving route. I also try to remember to not let the gas tank go under a 1/2 tank.
I take public transportation or walk most of the time. The annual streetcar pass is $150 and it's well worth it for us. We fill up about once a month because we drive to the grocery once a week or so.
Well in my town, the city has secured discounts with local merchants for Monthly bus pass holders totalling $55+ when the pass only costs $30. On top of this, my employer pays me an extra $2 a day that I use mass transit to get to work. So if I ride the bus to work every day for a month, I make an extra $40. this is more than enough to pay for my pass adn gives me $10 extra dollars that I can then leverage at a participating businesses to get a $3 coffee for $2...
I like to relax AND be productive, which are generally mutually exclusive. But I realized that if I could get some key things done quickly then I would feel better about taking a break. So, I hoped to list meaningful things that just took a few minutes. Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed the post.
Glad you liked the list. I tried to include items that people (including me!) may think are time consuming but really aren't, particularly ones that can help manage your finances.
I save by driving an old compact car that I keep well maintained, so I have no car payments, my insurance costs are low, and I get good milage. I live in an area where I'm in a five-mile radius of the places I go to most--work, church, shopping, library, and so forth--and I combine trips. It works out well for me.
I ride the city bus or walk. My employer buys my monthly bus pass for me, so the money comes out of my check on a pre-tax basis. My typical monthly expense for the $62 pass is $43 on a pre-tax basis.
I "hypermile" when I drive my car. Hypermiling is doing things like accelorating slowly and coasting to an upcoming anticpated stop. This allows me to get better mileage.
We could do more to save on transportation, but we are aware and have made some conscious choices for savings. Years ago, we got rid of our second car and the insurance, upkeep, and fuel costs that go with it. This was easy to do because my husband is retired and I work mostly from home. Then we moved to a new town and I began to be away from home more to help care for our grandchildren, so we felt that beloved husband needed to have access to car when he was home alone. So what do we do now to save:
(1) Bought a used car instead of a new one and considered high mpg, cost of insurance, and reliability in our choice
(2) Exercise fuel-saving driving habits (less than 60 mph on freeway, good braking and acceleration techniques, check tires regularly for proper inflation)
(3) Pay cash at lowest-price gas station in our area
(4) Always combine errands, plan the shortest route, and patronize businesses/services in our neighborhood (banking, barber, dentist and doctor, etc.)
(5) Dropped comprehensive and collision insurance on the older car with highest mileage and lowest value
I don't have a car, which cuts out a lot of my transportation expenses. I do take the Metra to work and a monthly pass costs $135. When the weather warms up, I'm going to save that money by biking to work. I'll have some more money in my wallet but I'll also get the health benefits of biking 16 miles. It'll be great.
I'm lucky enough to have just moved much closer to where I work. Since the weather is warming up, I've started walking to work a few times a week. It's about a 40 min. walk one way but it's a great way to get exercise first thing in the morning. I'm also planning on busting out my bike soon and biking to and from work as much as possible to save on gas money. Biking/walking = FREE TRANSPORTATION, FREE EXERCISE, and MORE ENERGY!
I'm working on a news story about homeless people who put their stuff in storage when they lose their home. I would welcome an opportunity to send you a few questions and hopefully get your opinion on some things. I can be reached by writing to patlamarche at hotmail dot com
If you have a minute to contact me that would be great.
I actually started traveling less. I have been working from home more and trying to use less gas. I also try to do all my errands in one day to cut down on driving time.
We combine trips as much as possible. If I need something the person out stops and gets it. We also check our insurance rates every six months to make sure we are getting the best deal/rate.
We have 2 cars and live a few miles outside our small town. I go to town as few days a week as possible (usually 2, sometimes 3) and stay home the rest! It saves on gas and repair work on the car, but not the insurance. My car was used when purchased and had 19K miles on it. I've had it 4 years and now it has 32K on it. Yep, we don't drive a lot here! (For the other car, my hubby works 3.5 miles from home and that's nice on the fuel consumption too!) We are both safe drivers with excellent credit and get great insurance rates. Works out pretty well!
It's ironic that you have a picture of a subway for this article! Unless you can give up your car or you are 1) riding alone and 2) expect to have to pay for parking at your destination, riding the subway is AS EXPENSIVE AS or MORE EXPENSIVE THAN driving!
Anyhow, our biggest savings come from three sources: I work from home, we plan our errands carefully, and we buy relatively inexpensive cars and keep them for a very long time. Also, our last car was a 4cyl automatic, so it gets 40 mpg and up without being a hybrid.
When we take the subway into D.C., we do it for convenience if we think we'll get trapped in rush hour traffic, but with three family members who have to pay plus parking expenses at the terminus, it's way cheaper, even on off peak tickets, to drive in and pay for parking there.
I don't have the most fuel efficient vehicle~ a 7 year old Chrysler Town & Country, purchased when I was still hauling loads of boys to soccer games. But it's paid for & in good shape, so I make the best of it. Fortunately, I work from home, so I don't have to drive every day!
I do a lot of shopping online (Amazon!) and have things delivered whenever possible. Even if I'm purchasing something locally, I do research online, so I can avoid running around to comparison shop.
My best fuel savings comes from combining trips when I do go out. I make a list of errands & plan my route to cover as many things as possible in the same area. I also keep up with routine maintenance & keep the tires inflated to keep my vehicle running as efficiently as possible.
I moved 12 miles closer to work last year and it's saved me not only money but lots of time on public transit, traffic, tolls, and crossing a bridge. Now I can walk to work and I do so a few times a week but I mostly take the bus. My employer has a pre-tax commuter benefit program too, where I can get my commute cost taken directly out of my paycheck and deposited onto my transit pass to avoid tax. It's a few hundred bucks in commuting expenses annually, so it saves me quite a bit per year!
Now that I am unemployed, I am very strategic in running errands so I can save on gas. I do a list on Sundays of things I need (groceries, etc.) and pick a day during the week when I am attending a meeting and coordinate my errands around the location of my meeting. Thus far, it's working. I have been unemployed one month as of yesterday.
I use public transportation, the Bus and train. I also walk depending on the distance and weather.
I plan out my errands so that I drive in pretty much a circle. No back tracking, the most effective gas saving route. I also try to remember to not let the gas tank go under a 1/2 tank.
I take public transportation or walk most of the time. The annual streetcar pass is $150 and it's well worth it for us. We fill up about once a month because we drive to the grocery once a week or so.
Well in my town, the city has secured discounts with local merchants for Monthly bus pass holders totalling $55+ when the pass only costs $30. On top of this, my employer pays me an extra $2 a day that I use mass transit to get to work. So if I ride the bus to work every day for a month, I make an extra $40. this is more than enough to pay for my pass adn gives me $10 extra dollars that I can then leverage at a participating businesses to get a $3 coffee for $2...
Ride your bike! Improve health, save money, and protect the environment all at once.
I save money on transportation by walking when it's possible
I like to relax AND be productive, which are generally mutually exclusive. But I realized that if I could get some key things done quickly then I would feel better about taking a break. So, I hoped to list meaningful things that just took a few minutes. Thanks for reading and glad you enjoyed the post.
Glad you liked the list. I tried to include items that people (including me!) may think are time consuming but really aren't, particularly ones that can help manage your finances.
I save by driving an old compact car that I keep well maintained, so I have no car payments, my insurance costs are low, and I get good milage. I live in an area where I'm in a five-mile radius of the places I go to most--work, church, shopping, library, and so forth--and I combine trips. It works out well for me.
I ride the city bus or walk. My employer buys my monthly bus pass for me, so the money comes out of my check on a pre-tax basis. My typical monthly expense for the $62 pass is $43 on a pre-tax basis.
I use grocery reward points to save on gas purchases.
I "hypermile" when I drive my car. Hypermiling is doing things like accelorating slowly and coasting to an upcoming anticpated stop. This allows me to get better mileage.
We could do more to save on transportation, but we are aware and have made some conscious choices for savings. Years ago, we got rid of our second car and the insurance, upkeep, and fuel costs that go with it. This was easy to do because my husband is retired and I work mostly from home. Then we moved to a new town and I began to be away from home more to help care for our grandchildren, so we felt that beloved husband needed to have access to car when he was home alone. So what do we do now to save:
(1) Bought a used car instead of a new one and considered high mpg, cost of insurance, and reliability in our choice
(2) Exercise fuel-saving driving habits (less than 60 mph on freeway, good braking and acceleration techniques, check tires regularly for proper inflation)
(3) Pay cash at lowest-price gas station in our area
(4) Always combine errands, plan the shortest route, and patronize businesses/services in our neighborhood (banking, barber, dentist and doctor, etc.)
(5) Dropped comprehensive and collision insurance on the older car with highest mileage and lowest value
I don't have a car, which cuts out a lot of my transportation expenses. I do take the Metra to work and a monthly pass costs $135. When the weather warms up, I'm going to save that money by biking to work. I'll have some more money in my wallet but I'll also get the health benefits of biking 16 miles. It'll be great.
I combine errands/carpool as much as I can. Before I fill up the tank I check out gas prices on gasbuddy.com
I'm lucky enough to have just moved much closer to where I work. Since the weather is warming up, I've started walking to work a few times a week. It's about a 40 min. walk one way but it's a great way to get exercise first thing in the morning. I'm also planning on busting out my bike soon and biking to and from work as much as possible to save on gas money. Biking/walking = FREE TRANSPORTATION, FREE EXERCISE, and MORE ENERGY!
Hi,
I'm working on a news story about homeless people who put their stuff in storage when they lose their home. I would welcome an opportunity to send you a few questions and hopefully get your opinion on some things. I can be reached by writing to patlamarche at hotmail dot com
If you have a minute to contact me that would be great.
Pat
I actually started traveling less. I have been working from home more and trying to use less gas. I also try to do all my errands in one day to cut down on driving time.
We combine trips as much as possible. If I need something the person out stops and gets it. We also check our insurance rates every six months to make sure we are getting the best deal/rate.
I ease up a bit on the speed.
We have 2 cars and live a few miles outside our small town. I go to town as few days a week as possible (usually 2, sometimes 3) and stay home the rest! It saves on gas and repair work on the car, but not the insurance. My car was used when purchased and had 19K miles on it. I've had it 4 years and now it has 32K on it. Yep, we don't drive a lot here! (For the other car, my hubby works 3.5 miles from home and that's nice on the fuel consumption too!) We are both safe drivers with excellent credit and get great insurance rates. Works out pretty well!