Gas prices in the U.S. currently loom just below $4 per gallon, with some regions seeing the line being crossed. As summer draws closer, predictions for gas prices well over the $4 mark are cropping up from every economist and analyst in the country. Are you housing a gas guzzler in your garage? Maybe even two?
The gas prices alone are enough to scare anyone away from driving, but the cost of owning a car certainly doesn’t end there. Factor in preventative maintenance, repairs, car insurance rates in Ontario, and car payments, and you’re looking at over $10,000 a year just to own one vehicle. With many homes owning more than one vehicle, the costs of transporting your family to work and school are astronomical!
Many people fail to truly add up the costs of owning a vehicle when deciding if it is affordable, and end up with a financial headache when they realize that the total costs are not really within their budget. That means being in a tough situation, deciding what to do with a car that needs expensive repairs or is costing too much to fuel.
So, what to do about the expenses of driving a car? The first step is cutting down to one vehicle. Families often think that the expense is worth the convenience of having multiple vehicles, but when you consider the $10,000 per year per vehicle figure, it really isn’t. Make a chart of who needs to be where and when, and figure out the transportation from there. Can some family members carpool? Is public transportation ever an option? Research options to keep vehicle use efficient.
Another solution to the problem of a cash-hungry car is signing up for a car sharing program. Car sharing programs are just as they sound – you pay a fee to have access to a car, usually by hour. Whether a car sharing program can help you save money depends on how often you’d use the car. If you need it for a daily commute, five days per week, it’s likely to not be worth it.
Despite the rising cost of owning a car, most families continue to own two or more cars. When will the trend end? People are likely to continue nixing the second, third, or fourth cars in their garages as insurance and gas prices continue to rise. Keeping up with one’s neighbors will seem less beneficial as the already steep price of owning a car makes a sharp increase. Instead of bragging about the new car in the garage, maybe it’s time to start bragging about the $10,000 saved this year from only having one car.
Searching online to compare quotes for the best rates for vehicle insurance is a very effective method to save time and money. If you surf the web for Kanetix Auto Insurance Rates Alberta, you will be able to find affordable rates of insurance for your vehicle.
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I haven’t heard good things about the car sharing programs; unfortunately some people don’t treat other’s stuff as well as their own (or maybe they do, and that’s the problem).