No Car Day ??

Hightower13

Hello everyone. Just wondered if anyone tried doing like a No Car Day like No Spend Days ?? I feel it's impossible to go without using my car everyday I spend a lot of money on diesel and always running around in my car. Do some of you have a budget of a certain amount of fuel you use a week? Any tips?? Thanks

KxMx

Have a sit down and think, tomorrow, how would I go about my day if I didn't drive, how would I get to work, the shops etc. Most things if not all can be done with either a little or alot of difficulty. I'm 24 and don't drive, never had a parent who drives, so I know!

Hightower13

Thanks for your reply KxMx. I think most of the time its just convenience with me that because I have a car I feel I can just jump in it and go anywhere - I drive to places which are like 5 mins walking distance etc so I know I should be walking there instead of driving. I feel its hard to get out of that habit!

flippin36

I'm doing this since the kids went back to school, I no longer have to do the school run and thought it was a great opportunity to get the fuel bill down. I spent £150 on petrol during the summer holidays which is £50 more than I would normally so I'm pretty determined to recoup some of those summer expenses.

OH has been brilliant cycling to work everyday I usually pick him up (we only have 1 car) but if the weather is good he cycles back (3 weeks now!) so I'm pleased with him. I have decided to only use the car for weekends and taking kids to clubs in an evening (too far to walk). I do my big shop on a sunday and any top up shops I will walk (only 3 miles and its a nice country walk). Effectively this means that I have NO CAR days 4 days a week!

I filled the car up at the beginning of the month (£47) and that should be all I need for the month, might even have some spare - we shall see. Fingers crossed for good weather .

tony_ack

I tend to have at least one no car day at the weekend, two if I'm not busy.

I have to commute 15 miles Monday to Thursday, and then on Friday I need to take the little one to nursery which is 3 miles away too. However as soon as I get home on Friday the car is parked and I don't use it until Monday unless I have to.

My tips on cutting down on usage would be to try and combine all of your errands into fewer journies. For example if I need to go to the shops or buy dog food, I will go on the way home from work, if I need to fuel up, I will do it in the morning on the way to work. One of my biggest savers has been to go to play football straight from work - in the past I would go from work, back home, and then back out to football which is fairly near work, resulting in 50 miles of travelling in a day. Now I stay at work an extra hour on football day (and I get the time back later in the week), meaning I only travel 35 miles instead.

Using your car for single short journies is a killer - your car will not have time to warm up if you are travelling a mile or so to the shop and back. When the engine is cold it will be running a richer fuel map, and fuel usage will be 50-100% up on normal warm running.

CH27

Hightower13 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply KxMx. I think most of the time its just convenience with me that because I have a car I feel I can just jump in it and go anywhere - I drive to places which are like 5 mins walking distance etc so I know I should be walking there instead of driving. I feel its hard to get out of that habit!

Or Laziness?:D

Hightower13

It is - your spot on! I just don't like admitting it! :rotfl:

fd1972uk

There is a lot of laziness, but in all honesty in terms of getting to shops, it is probably the only option as Public transport would probably work out just as expensive.

As for work, no chance, I have a 70+ mile roundtrip every day so can't, transport would cost almost the same amount to get there, although maybe I could save a few pounds by trying to jump a lift in but getting the bus back, would only be saving me a few pound per day though adding an hour or so onto my journey etc.

I'd love if there was more options of car sharing which would be a big help.


FD

savingholmes

Hi Hightower - This last year I have started walking more - I live just over a mile from town and work and with diesel prices and parking charges increasing - I have tried to walk more. I am also hoping this gets me fit and healthy. I can now walk 2 miles with ease - and some days have walked up to 7 having started the year as a complete couch potato after illness. We do have a fuel budget and I do get upset if we start massively going over it. I want the kids to be fitter and healthier too so now at the weekend we tend to walk into town. sometimes if we are popping to town for a treat I still ask the family to walk. When I was in my early 20s I had no car - regularly walked miles a day and was slim and fit - TBH if walking gets me even close to how I was then I would be very grateful and so would my OH!

MrWillyWonka

I tend to walk to anywhere that's local or catch the bus if I have time and I do try and not use the car if possible. However in my opinion it's really difficult to rely on public transport for two reasons. They take too long and missing a connecting train/bus can be a nightmare. In addition the cost of public transport is quite often more than the cost of running the car, particularly if there is more than one person in the car.

My partner does a lot of driving and with an old car it works out to be cheaper in the long run to buy a newer more efficient car (30mpg old car vs 60mpg new car) so we are in the process of doing that.

My advice is walk, cycle or as others have said do multiple errands on one trip. One other thing, I have some friends who have a whole load of rubbish in their boot that just adds loads of weight. Don't keep stuff in your car that you don't need, the less weight the better!

FattyBettyBoo

Its always time that's the issue for me - its soooo much quicker in car and I never have enough time. I do try to drive the OH's car as often as posible to save money - he's loaded!!!

I try the 'no spending days'. Its a lovely feeling in the evening when you've achieved it. However, once I've failed e.g. a collection a work or something, I tend to blow it completely, which isn't good. I find lunch time at work a hard time not to spend. I like to get out of the office and its hard to make it not cost money.