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With the recent changes brought about by the latest government budget, more Australian families are feeling the pinch. Tightening our belts and becoming more savvy about the way we spend our hard earned cash has become even more important.

Taking into account riding fuel costs, insurance premiums, road tax, not to mention maintenance bills, the family car can be a real money drainer can’t it?

Here are some simple tips that all families can use to ensure they get the most from their dollar.

9 Simple Tips for Cutting Your Family’s Car-Related Costs

1. If your child’s school or kindergarten is too far to walk, arrange with friends in your neighbourhood to car-pool. Taking it in turns with another family to do the school pick up and drop off means that you’ll both benefit from only having to do half as many trips in the car.

2. Make an annual appointment with yourself to shop around and ensure you are getting the best insurance deal. I tend to do this after filing our tax returns, whilst all things financial are on my mind.
3. You can shop around for the best fuel prices these days without even leaving the house, by using an app on your smartphone or by going on the internet.

4. Short journeys, believe it or not, are fuel-guzzlers. Get into the habit of hanging up the car keys and walking short distances instead, or try to consolidate all your errands into one trip, so that you are not driving the same short distance several times a week.

5. Whilst having your car serviced regularly doesn’t always come cheaply, it can save you money in the long run. Taking your car to be checked over by a qualified mechanic can stop what starts off as a minor problem, turning into a major (and more expensive) problem later down the track.

6. Grab the kids and a couple of sponges and buckets of soapy water and give the family car a clean. Taking care of the body work will prevent rusting, or paint peeling caused by animal droppings that may later devalue your car should you wish to sell it.

7. Did you know that slowing down more gradually when approaching stop lights and speeding up more slowly when taking off can result in up to 35% better fuel economy?

8. Cruising around in tyres that are not filled to the optimum level with air wastes fuel. Check your tyre pressure regularly.

9. Having the right tyres on your family car can also dramatically save you money. For example, Goodyear’s Assurance TripleMax tyres are designed to help your car use less energy, saving users up to $500!

What’s more, Goodyear are currently offering 4 for the price of 3 on it’s Assurance Triple Max range until 31st July 2014.

Win $500 with GoodYear

For your chance to win $500 visit the Goodyear Facebook page Entry is easy: Just tell them which 3 things you’d buy with the $500 savings you’d make if you had the Assurance TripleMax tyres on your family car.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.  However all thoughts and opinions are my own.