Transportation costs can take a big portion of your budget, especially if you have a car payment. You need to carefully consider all areas of transportation costs when you are looking at trimming this section of your budget. You need to consider your car payment, your insurance costs, your gasoline costs and your maintenance costs. If you live in the city you should also consider your parking costs as well as public transportation costs.
First you may want to look at trimming the amount that you spend on your car each month. You do not want to own more than half of your annual salary in cars. If you are you are spending too much. You may want to consider downgrading your cars to something more affordable. You can get good reliable cars, trucks and vans for $10,000 or less. Buying a brand new car is foolish, because a new car depreciates in value so quickly.
Another area to consider is the amount that you are spending on gas each month. Look into taking public transportation, car-pooling or buying a more fuel-efficient car to take to work. For example it makes more sense to drive a small compact to work then it does an SUV. If you have more than one car per family then you may want to consider who has the longer commute and have that person use the most fuel-efficient car.
You can also save money on car insurance by shopping around for a new policy every few years. Most people find an insurance provider and stick with them, even when they raise the rates each year for no reason. Shop around online or by calling every other year, and you may be surprised at how much you can save. Be sure to take advantage of alumni, good driver, and employee discounts that you may have available to you.
Finally maintaining your car with regular oil changes and tune-ups can help you get the most out of your car. This will help your car to run at the best fuel efficiency available, as well as extend the life of your car, which will save you money as well. Simple things such as having the correct tire pressure in your car will make a big difference as well.
