Goal: Review your transportation budget and discover hidden savings hacks. Update your budget to reflect this new spending plan.
Why it Matters: One of the fastest ways to free up more money is by optimizing your budget, and transportation is no exception. Optimizing your budget will allow you to reach FI as quickly as possible.
Completion Time: ~10-mins
21 Strategies to Reduce Your Transportation Expenses: After reading this list, take a look at your transportation spending and identify areas that you can improve.
Car Maintenance
Consider buying used auto parts. There is a huge market for used car parts, and you can typically find what you need in great condition for a fraction of the cost.
Shop around for vehicle service specials. Maintenance providers will often provide special deals for certain services. If you find a deal but prefer another provider, ask them to match the discount.
Do the basics yourself. Check your car’s manual or look online to see what type of maintenance requirements are necessary. Teach yourself how to complete simple maintenance tasks to save money.
Service your vehicle regularly. This might sound like you're spending more money, but statistically, taking care of your vehicle can reduce the risk of an expensive fix (aka more debt).
Remove heavy items from your car. Additional weight can put unnecessary strain on your suspension and tires which can affect the service life.
Wash your own car. Purchasing some inexpensive car wash equipment may seem like a large cost up front, but it’s usually more cost effective in the long run.
Gas
Be a gas rewards member. Gas companies are fighting for customer loyalty and are willing to give incentives for it. Review different gas reward programs and apps to find the best ones in your area.
Plan your errands. Spend less on gas and less wear and tear on your vehicle by coordinating errands that are close together.
Take public transportation. Especially if you work in a city, taking the subway, bus, metro, Uber, and more, can prove to save you money.
Carpool to work. Save gas and get to work faster using the carpool lane.
Walk or ride your bike. Do you live close to work? Try biking to cut down on gas costs. Don't have a bicycle yet? Consider buying one off Facebook marketplace or Craigslist.
Work from home. This option may not be for everyone, but using your car less frequently can save you gas money.
Ride Hailing
Carpool to lower the cost. If you need to hitch a ride, try splitting it with more people.
Take advantage of promotions and discounts. Services like Uber and Lyft will often give promotions or discounts to their users. For example, you may receive credits for referring others to use the app.
Ask for a flat rate for taxis. If you need to take a cab for long distances, call ahead and ask the company for a flat rate.
Check if a taxi is cheaper than Uber/Lyft. There are some situations, like short distances or discounted flat rates, where taxis can be more cost effective than their digital counterparts.
Ask to take the shortest route instead of the fastest route. Ride hailing apps usually take this into consideration, but when hailing a taxi, ask to take the shortest route instead. Usually the fastest route involves highways which can cost more due to the additional distance.
Other
Rent out your car. Maybe you can do without your car part time, so why not rent out for the times you're not using it?
Sell your car. Are your car payments too high? It might be a good idea to sell your car and purchase something cheaper. You can use WizeFi to create a what-if scenario and see if it makes sense to sell your car.
Lower your car insurance rates. Shop around to compare different auto insurances and make sure you're getting the lowest coverage for the best price.
Drive slow and safely. Unexpected costs like a ticket or accident are the most costly, because it usually means going into more debt. So, drive safely to ensure you're not acquiring any tickets and increasing your insurance rates. Not to mention driving slower saves on gas.
Your Turn: Now it’s time to modify your transportation budget and free up more FI dollars to accelerate your plan. To view your spending and modify your budget in WizeFi, simply follow this tutorial.
Once you've reduced your transportation expenses, make sure to apply those extra financial independence dollars towards your 4-step plan.
In this example, you can go the 4-step plan and apply an extra $100 towards your Emergency Savings each month.
This one change has allowed this person to reach financial independence over 2 years sooner!