Budgeting HINTS FOR A BETTER RETIREMENT
Useful budgeting tips, ideas and suggestions to help you enjoy a long and prosperous retirement.
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Budgeting Help Articles
- Are you receiving your rates rebate?
- Latest Massey Expenditure Guidelines available
- Its getting Tough out there
- Inflation. What does it mean
- Drive your Dollars Further
- You need more $'s than ever
Driving your Dollars further
When the average price of ‘ 91 fuel’ climbed over $3 per litre, and the 25c fuel tax was added on top of that, people were looking for ways to get ‘greater milage out of a tank of gas’.
Not everyone can afford to swap to an electric vehicle, or have such flexible lives they can switch to unreliable public transport options, so they needed to look at how they can save money at the pump.
Irrespective of the current cost of fuel, there are a number of tips that you can use to make a tank of fuel go further. These include:
Make sure you maintain your vehicleRegular maintenance and servicing improve the efficiency of your vehicle, and therefore can improve your fuel consumption. It’s very important to make sure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure as indicated in your owner’s manual. Underinflated and overinflated tyres both adversely affect fuel economy.
Drive with a gentle right footExcessive speed is the biggest fuel-guzzling factor so having a light right foot and ensuring all acceleration is gentle is very important to fuel-efficient driving. Waka Kotahi indicate that “driving over the speed limit can increase fuel consumption by 10%”
The faster an engine spins, the more fuel it uses. Optimum fuel economy speed will be different for every car, but many article suggest this is somewhere between 50k and 80K and ensuring you keep the engine under 2000rpm when accelerating and cruising.
Wear suitable clothingDon’t use your air conditioning unless you really have to as it uses engine power and therefore increases fuel consumption. This goes for heat as well as cooling. Running the heater uses more fuel. Try to dress for the weather, even inside your car, if fuel efficiency is a big concern. Waka Kotahi suggest “using your air conditioning can increase fuel use by 10%”
Don’t get dragged downDon’t let driving become a drag. Remove your roof bars and roof box and bike racks from your vehicle when not in use. They each create wind resistance and cause your car to use more fuel through the ‘drag’ effect. This is increased the faster you drive.
An empty roof rack adds 16% drag when driving at 100k. At the same speed a roof box adds almost 40%, making your vehicle much less fuel efficient. Driving with an open window also has a similar effect.
Combine journeys: a warm engine is more efficientConsider making one round trip rather than several short trips. Once the engine is warm it will operate at its most efficient, whereas several cold starts will increase fuel consumption even though the total distance you travel could be the same. According to Waka Kotahi “Short trips use 20% more fuel when the engine is cold”
If you are already doing all these things and still struggling to get to the end of the week with fuel in the tank, then you might have to consider:
Sharing rides or carpoolingCarpooling is cheaper and more environmentally friendly than driving alone. You can cut your fuel and parking costs, and at the same time reduce congestion and harmful emissions. Talk to your neighbours, why take two cars to the supermarket to do your weekly shopping when one will suffice.
Walk, cycle or use an e-scooterYou are already paying millions for cycle ways in your taxes and rates, so you might as well consider using them. In Auckland even though the average cost to build 1km of cycleway is $8m (must be a gold plated cycle way), it can still be difficult to balance all those shopping bags on a bike.
Use public TransportIf you are not working to a timetable (as the bus and train networks never seem to keep to theirs) then consider using public transport. There is always a sense of satisfaction when you finally get moving and cruise past those long queues of stationary cars in rush hour. Just remember to leave lots of time in case there are delays. A if you have a GoldCard it is cheap in non-peak hours..
Use your car some days and one of the other options on othersRather than ditching the car completely, considering swapping to an alternative mode of transport one or two days per week.
Better still just work from home. Or with a good retirement plan you can retire early, not work at all, and avoid the need to drive to and from work. Although these driving tips will still apply to and from the golf course, boat and holiday home.