Petrol price woes - how to pay less at the pump.

Personal Finance · 13 Nov 2018

With petrol prices in New Zealand hitting record highs, what can we all do to minimise the agonising pain in our wallets every time we fill up? Pundits and financial experts…

With petrol prices in New Zealand hitting record highs, what can we all do to minimise the agonising pain in our wallets every time we fill up?

Pundits and financial experts agree that high petrol prices are probably here to stay, so we all need to get savvy about fuel. Can we use less and save that way? Can we find a cheaper supplier out there somewhere? Or are there other cunning tricks we can use to stop the cost of petrol negatively affecting our lives?

The first and easiest step to take is to find the cheapest supplier of petrol in your area. Apps like Gaspy and Pricewatch are very useful here - download one or both of these apps today and use them every time you want to fill up. They both offer very frequent updates of local petrol prices.

Don’t be fooled by the ‘6 cents off a litre’ vouchers that you may be given at the supermarket. You still need to compare the actual cost of petrol at different suppliers - often the 6 cents off per litre deals are at the more expensive suppliers, so you’re still paying more than you should even with the discount.

The same goes for AA membership deals which can offer up to 10 cents off a litre. Ten cents off what, exactly? That’s the question you need to ask.

The next step is to think about how you can use less petrol. Can you plan ahead and combine different tasks in the same trip? For example, can you drop your child at a sports event and then swing by the supermarket on your way home, rather than making two separate trips?

Another question to ask is: do you actually need to take the car at all? Often we will drive a short distance because it’s quicker and we haven’t planned ahead.

Could you get up a little earlier and bike or walk to work or take public transport instead of driving? Not only is it good for you to build some exercise into your day, it’s good for your wallet at the same time.

Does anyone remember carless days, in the 1970s? Because petrol was in short supply, we were all encouraged to leave our cars in the garage on a particular day each week.

If you really tried, is there a day each week you could commit to not using your car? Walk, bike or run instead for one day a week and you might find you’re achieving two things at once: saving money and improving your health. Win-win.

Some of you may be wondering if it’s worth buying an electric car or hybrid. The answer is: it’s definitely worth doing the research to find out.

While electric cars are more expensive to buy than the equivalent petrol-guzzling models, their running costs are very small indeed.

Many people are put off by the limited range (the distance you can travel between charges) of electric cars. But it’s still worth thinking about whether you could use one as a daily runabout. You don’t need an enormous range for the school run, your commute or the daily chores.

Also, modern electric cars have a greater range than the previous generation of electric cars - do your research and see if there’s one that could suit your lifestyle.

Good.net.nz has an informative article ‘10 reasons to buy an electric car’, which is well worth a read.

So that’s our advice on how to stop petrol prices ruining your life. The fact of the matter is we all need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels - so get there, have fun being more active and let the car stay at home sometimes.

Try to see the current situation as an opportunity to do things differently - and high petrol prices might just enhance your life, instead of ruining it.

Considering buying an electric car? If you want to negotiate the best price possible for that new car, there’s no better way to walk into the lot than with cash in hand. A car loan from Harmoney could give you the bargaining tool you need.


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