Cars cost Money

How much you’ll have to pay depends on many variables, but, according to RIAS, the annual cost of running a new £18,000 petrol car is around £2,600 per year – based on driving 10,000 miles at 45mpg (which sounds a bit optimistic!)

As RIAS says, “Driving your own car certainly gives you the freedom to get from A to B whenever you like, but it does come at a cost.”

If you don’t trust averages, and want to find out exactly how much your own car is costing, thisismoney.co.uk has a calculator.         

Save even more

Not owning a car also means not having to pay for parking or congestion charges. You can give up the costly gym membership as you get fitter. And if you have a car parking space you might even be able to free it up, rent it out and make some money. How do you get around without owning a car? Look at the weekly figures above and think about how many journeys by taxi, hire car, train or bus that would buy every week. The sooner you give up your car, the sooner you will start saving money.