Fuel your Wallet or ( How to save £432 per year driving to work )

Skippy2roo

Are you like me and drive your car to work ? Each week we fill it up and forget about it till the little light flashes and then moan about the price per gallon just before topping it back up, and this cycle continues on and on throughout the year.
The journey I make to work would cost me approx £9 in a taxi and that’s just one way so my own transport is by far the cheaper option, but what if i said at the end of the year just by driving yourself to work would net you £432 ?
I started to think about the taxi fare and thought if i were to charge myself just 10% of the £9.00 taxi fare costs, remember this is one way so it would be twice this figure, would i miss £1.80 actually being in my pocket ? I gave it a go for 2 weeks and have to report that the answer in my case is NO.
Now as i based this concept on a 5 day working week and the actual amount saved each week would be, and quite ironically the same amount as a one way fare in the taxi, £9.00
Over a 48 week year, based on the fact that most people have 4 weeks holiday entitlement per year, the total amount you wold pay yourself using this principle would be,
£9.00 x 48 = £432.00
This idea is based on the strange way that people tend to reason, in that a small amount put away is less noticeable than larger amounts, or in other words which would you miss more ? £1.80 per day or a straight £9.00 at the end of the week ? my guess would be you would miss a straight £9.00 at the end of the week.
Now i know some of you will be saying " Yes but you are paying for the fuel anyway " well, yes this is true and you are paying yourself for a service you would normally do anyway, but if we added up savings from this idea, at the end of the year you would have £432.00 saved.
Getting back to the psychology of it all, i ask you this, which of the above two options appeal the most to you, £9.00 per week or £1.80 per day ?
All i can suggest is try it and see if you can regulary get yourself into saving small amounts, it's less daunting than forcing yourself to bang a lump away at the end of the week away.

maninthestreet

Just set a standing order up to pay £36/month into a savings account, taken out of your current account the day after your wages get paid. Then you can forget about having to put £1.80 a day into your piggy bank.

Skippy2roo

maninthestreet wrote: »

Just set a standing order up to pay £36/month into a savings account, taken out of your current account the day after your wages get paid. Then you can forget about having to put £1.80 a day into your piggy bank.

Hy there,

That is one option and probably the easiest and most sensible route, all i was trying to do in some way, was teach myself with this example just how small amounts can add up over time, and physically force myself to save rather than being reliant on the option you offer.

It'sonly a thought and wondered what other peoples views were, thanks for your input.