With the UK gripped by a cost-of-living crisis, households across the country are looking for ways to tighten the belt when it comes to their weekly spend. Travel is one of the more expensive aspects to any household budget, especially where daily commutes to work are concerned; between road tax, insurance, maintenance costs and regular petrol fills, driving a car can quickly become an expensive endeavour. But there are ways in which money can be saved, both with car and train travel. The following are some simple ways you can cut the budget on your necessary journeys.
Cutting Costs of Car Travel
Fuel consumption is the main sticking point when it comes to the cost of driving, and the most effective way to engage with bringing down that cost. Choosing a petrol station that’s slightly out of your way, but with a much cheaper price per litre, could cut your average fuel costs by 10% easily, while certain driving measures can increase your fuel efficiency and reduce the need to fill.
Car-sharing with other employees for a commute is an excellent way to bring down the cost of driving for all of you. However, the best way to cut the costs of car travel is to eliminate it entirely; public transport options offer an inexpensive way to get around, and can create significant savings on petrol and insurance all the while. Train travel is a particularly cost-effective transport solution for longer distances, though that too can present its own costs…
Saving Money with Train Travel
While train travel is generally a cheap way to travel, repeated, last-minute or long-distance travel can all see spikes in expenditure. Thankfully though, there are a number of nifty ways in which you can bring these costs down and make public transport even friendlier to your wallet. Firstly, you should check to see if you are eligible for any railcards that might discount the cost of tickets, such as the 16-25 or 26-30 railcards, which offer up to a third off train travel year-round.
Another way to save money can be found in the kind of train tickets you buy. For one-off journeys, travelling off-peak is your best bet, as tickets for trains outside of regular commuter hours can be much cheaper than their peak-time counterparts – and GroupSave tickets for groups of 3 to 9 can save even more money on all manner of popular train routes. For regular travel such as a work commute, season tickets can shave a large amount off the daily cost of train tickets, as well as remove the hassle of buying a ticket each day.
In Conclusion
These tips only scratch the surface when it comes to ways in which you can save money on travel – and of course, there are many ways to skin the cat when it comes to applying some of these tips to your own driving habits. Either way, these tips can help you trim the fat, and weather the cost-of-living crisis in comfort.
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