Drive 50 Miles Per Day? Here’s How You Could Save More Than $150 Per Month

Do you feel like you spend more time in your car than you do in your home? Do you have a long work commute, oodles of miles while doing your job or run your kids all over town for their extra curriculars? If so, you might feel like you’re watching life through a windshield while you belt out the lyrics to that song you’re hearing for the fifth time today.

That’s OK, especially if you like your car. But are you paying too much for it?

If you’re driving 50 miles per day, it feels better if you know you’re saving money. Here are a few ideas to pay less for your extensive time in the car.

Pay for Better Tunes by Saving at the Pump

Putting on miles means burning through a lot of gas, even with a fuel-efficient car.

If you’re a savvy saver, you probably already use GasBuddy to help you find the cheapest gas station in town. It’s an easy — and free — way to avoid overpaying.

A quick look at gas prices on GasBuddy for urban areas such at Tampa, Dallas and Chicago shows you could save as much as 25 cents per gallon just by choosing the right gas station.Wow.

But once you pull up to the pump, here’s something else you can do: Get a discount card from GasBuddy to automatically save 10 cents per gallon on your first purchase (and 5 cents per gallon after that).

The free discount card is tied directly to your checking account. It works at 95% of gas stations throughout the country, so you don’t have to drive around town just to find “your” station. Plus, you don’t have to wait for a rebate — it’s immediate savings.

Simply and securely sign up through GasBuddy. Connect your bank account, enter your address, and GasBuddy will put a card in the mail.

Find out Whether You’re Paying Too Much for Car Insurance

When’s the last time you looked at your car insurance plan? Don’t just renew your plan because it’s what you’ve always done. See if there is a better plan out there for you, your car and the way you drive.

Yes, there’s no getting around car insurance, unfortunately. But one way you could save money is by shopping around and comparing rates at least once a year. Less than 50% of us do that, according to this survey from The Zebra, though 81% of us report wanting lower rates.

So, just like you compare the prices of flights, shoes and laptops before purchasing, why not compare car insurance?

If it’s been more than six months since your last car insurance quote, you should look again. 

And if you look through a digital marketplace called SmartFinancial, you could be getting rates as low as $22 a month — and saving yourself more than $700 a year. 

It takes one minute to get quotes from multiple insurers, so you can see all the best rates side-by-side. Yep — in just one minute you could save yourself $715 this year. That’s some major cash back in your pocket.

So if you haven’t checked car insurance rates in a while, see how much you can save with a new policy.

 

Get More Mileage out of Your Car Payments

When you bought the car you knew you’d spend a lot of time in, did you scour the banks, credit unions and internet to get the very best rate on your loan? If you’re like most people, you probably took the financing offered by the dealership, and that’s OK. But you could do better.

You might be able to save a nice chunk of change by refinancing your auto loan. Think you could knock off $100 a month or more?

Your Savings Add up — Just Like the Miles

See how easy that was? Let’s tally the score.

Gas savings: $15 per month

Insurance premium savings: $39 per month

Car payment savings: $100 per month

Grand total: $154

Your savings may be a bit less, or they could even be more, depending your car and how much you drive. Considering just how much time you spend behind the wheel listening to the radio play that super popular song over and over, taking a few minutes to discover your savings possibilities could hit just the right note.

Tyler Omoth is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder who loves soaking up the sun and finding creative ways to help others. He drives 70 miles every day to his awesome job. Catch him on Twitter at @Tyomoth.