{"id":14054,"date":"2022-07-05T14:22:27","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T04:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/?p=14054"},"modified":"2022-07-05T14:22:27","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T04:22:27","slug":"becoming-greener-saving-money-and-other-ways-to-get-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/driving\/becoming-greener-saving-money-and-other-ways-to-get-about\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming Greener, Saving Money, and Other Ways to Get About"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s always a prudent idea to have a little bit of cash tucked away for a rainy day.\u00a0 As much as we like to drive, there are some other ways of getting to work or the shops, especially if you\u2019re one who lives in a city or town, which will probably be most of us.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I had a little more cash in the bank!\u201d is a phrase that\u2019s been around since Noah, and I guess he too might have looked at getting a higher paid job to cope with the rising costs of timber, building materials, fuel, and other important goods and services.\u00a0 For some of us, the reality is that our current job is pretty good, anyway.\u00a0 So, what are some things we can do when we feel we need to be saving a little more money for other things (e.g., that weekend away to Fiji or paying for that school sports trip to NZ that one of the kids has to go on)?<\/p>\n

Getting from A to B every day of the week does draw down on any spare cash, and once you\u2019ve made the switch to a smaller car, a hybrid or \u2013 lucky for some \u2013 even a new EV, you are left scratching around for other options to cut costs.\u00a0 Is there anything else that can be done then to reduce our fuel, EV power bill, and our carbon footprint?<\/p>\n

On sunny days \u2013 and we have a few of those in Australia \u2013 why not take the bike instead of taking the car?\u00a0 If your work premises is under 30 minutes away by bike, then cycling is a great way to keep yourself fit, also ensuring that the times when you do dust off the car to take it out for a spin become even more fun and rewarding.<\/p>\n

Using your car less and biking or walking more is going to be good for keeping your body in shape.\u00a0 Now that\u2019s a great incentive if you\u2019re on the lookout for someone special or even if just maintaining the special relationship you do have.\u00a0 How cool is that, maintaining your sexiness and letting more cash build up in the bank for that holiday away or \u201cJohnny\u2019s or Jenny\u2019s\u201d school sports trip.\u00a0 Of course, if you have to take half a dozen kids to school, take a load of gear or a trailer, or if it\u2019s simply pouring with rain, then you\u2019re probably going to want to stick with your car for transport.\u00a0 However, shorter distances can also be walked \u2013 even with a brolly in the pouring rain!<\/p>\n

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Governments, town planners, and urban designers are all trying making it easier for cyclists to be able to bike safely, pedestrians to go walk about, all while working towards cleaning up the air quality of our urban environments \u2013 particularly the congested city environment.\u00a0 I do love a ride on the pushbike.\u00a0 The wind in the hair, the sun on the back, and the blood pumping through the veins feels great.<\/p>\n

But what about the bus or train?\u00a0 Does your public transport system provide a better alternative to your vehicle\u2019s thirsty internal combustion engine?\u00a0 If you can find a public transport route that takes you within half a kilometre of your work, why not use public transport and walk the remainder?\u00a0 You\u2019ll get to stretch your legs before arriving at your office, and this will help your work productivity \u2013 especially first thing in the morning.\u00a0 Buses are usually comfortable enough in Australia, while the train is also available in many of our main centres.<\/p>\n

I guess if it\u2019s time for getting the groceries, the bus or train might not be a practical option; it is hard work carrying all those shopping bags full of milk and eggs.\u00a0 The grocery run is definitely easier to do by car.\u00a0 Doing the groceries weekly or even fortnightly rather than less frequently saves you petrol money and also grocery money \u2013 it\u2019s a fact!\u00a0 Flip the coin, and I suppose lots of little shopping trips everyday by bus or train could also get the groceries done.<\/p>\n

But is everyday shopping practical or relaxing? Maybe not for busy Mums and Dads, or workaholics, but it is probably more attractive for older people who haven\u2019t quite the same work and family commitments.<\/p>\n

Of course, there will be a number of you smirking as you read this because your work office is at home. \u00a0Yes, I agree, that\u2019s a pretty cool set up! \u00a0Rolling out of bed in the morning and into your office chair sounds like a great way to get to work.\u00a0 Still, there are ways, I\u2019m sure, that you could reduce the level of car trips you do in a week, especially if you needed to save a few extra dollars for various reasons.<\/p>\n

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Still not convinced that you can give up the car entirely?\u00a0 Actually, it is pretty hard in this day and age to go carless.\u00a0 All of us need to be able to get out of town and see the countryside from time to time \u2013 it\u2019s healthy and the Doctors would agree!\u00a0 However, there is another phenomenon known as carpooling.\u00a0 You could carpool with the people at your work.\u00a0 Single-occupant vehicles (i.e., one person in one car) are frowned on by town planners, environmentalists, and traffic engineers, so if you can share the ride with someone else via a carpool system, you will be impressing these types.\u00a0 You will also get to save money, and you can relax a little, feeling a bit better about how you\u2019re helping to reduce traffic congestion, your own carbon footprint, and the urban air pollution.<\/p>\n

Of course, if you love cars, then you are going to want to drive yourself everywhere.\u00a0 Best save up and buy a hybrid or EV, then!<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s always a prudent idea to have a little bit of cash tucked away for a rainy day.\u00a0 As much as we like to drive, there are some other ways of getting to work or the shops, especially if you\u2019re one who lives in a city or town, which will probably be most of us. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86,58,4923,4471,6930,4014],"tags":[7324,7323,6423,7329,7197,7321,7322,2159,7326,7328,7327,7325,7320],"class_list":["post-14054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-driving","category-electric-vehicles-evs","category-environment","category-people-movers","category-sustainabilitygreen","tag-bike-to-work","tag-biking","tag-car-pool","tag-car-pool-to-work","tag-car-pooling","tag-carless","tag-cycling","tag-pedestrians","tag-saving-fuel-money-reducing-travel-costs","tag-saving-money","tag-travel-costs","tag-walk-to-work","tag-walking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14059,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14054\/revisions\/14059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.privatefleet.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}