Budgeting - Transportation

[Radiance]

Because I am fine tuning my budget I am trying to be very specific. I thought I had included all my expenses but i was wrong.

I received a reminder to renew my car registration. I had not accounted for that. Am I missing any other transportation item?

Car Payment 293
Car Insurance 100
Gas 150
Tolls 35
AAA membership 6
Registration 4
Car Maintenance 100
Total Transportation 688

I feel I will never end!

[creditcardfree]

I think you have everything now!

Have you shopped around for car insurance? Can you receive a discount if you pay quarterly or semi annually? Also, check your deductible. If you are comfortable raising it, your premiums should drop.

[zetta]

Just make sure your baby emergency fund is at least large enough to cover your insurance deductible.

[creditcardfree]

Just make sure your baby emergency fund is at least large enough to cover your insurance deductible.

Completely agree. Don't raise your deductible until you have an emergency fund to cover it.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I don't know what registration means in your area, but here it is only done once, upon purchase of the car.

+Then there is a license plate which must be renewed every year or two.

+If the state changes design of the license plates, the next time we renew the license we have to also buy new plates.

+Then there are yearly local stickers which show that you have had the car inspected for safety and emissions.

+ Then we have at the end of each year to pay
personal property tax on our cars.

+How about your driver's license? I think our state is now on a 3 or 6 years system.

+ Will your baby need a new carseat in the next year?

+Do you spend to wash and vacuum the car?

+Will you need to buy a car seat for someone else's car, someone who transports the little guy regularly?

That's all I can think of. But yeah, it does seem endless.

[Radiance]

Thank you Joan!

The yearly 'registration' is mainly for the decals, plates are changed every 5 years, good point, I don't know how much is that, will find out.

Driver license is 10 bucks every 5 years, I am ok not budgeting for that.

I don't think I pay extra taxes for the car... I have never thought about what do I pay taxes for other than my income! wow, a new chapter on my financial awareness saga.

But, back to transportation
My car seat is good for a long while, next step would be a booster seat. I think I will put that on my baby budget.
Wash and vacuum, I do that every couple months, that is $30, good one!
Some times my ex does it though.

And, regarding deductible, after having an impecable record for 10 years, I had two accidents in 6 months. Am I glad my deductible is $500!!
I have no emergency fund at all at this moment, so I am not rising car insurance deductible any time soon. I will however look for discounts for paying annually, I often get a December bonus at work and I might be able to put the moneys together for that, good suggestion!
I did shop around but it seems I have a good deal at this moment.

[Justice44]

Because I am fine tuning my budget I am trying to be very specific. I thought I had included all my expenses but i was wrong.

I received a reminder to renew my car registration. I had not accounted for that. Am I missing any other transportation item?

Car Payment 293
Car Insurance 100
Gas 150
Tolls 35
AAA membership 6
Registration 4
Car Maintenance 100
Total Transportation 688

I feel I will never end!

Radiance,

I totally understand. I have underestimated my budget several times.

[project15]

All that extra car stuff (sticker renewal, county sticker tax, repairs) goes into the Car Maintenance budget for me. I budget $150 per month for 2 cars and a motorcycle. So we have Insurance, Gas, Tolls, and Car Maintenance as our categories.

[junosama]

Looks good but always watch out for car maintenance. If you have a new car hopefully you have a good like maintenance plan but if its an older car you can expect things to break down often.

My old Cadillac i ditched used to break down a lot costing me several hundred dollars at a time to fix, used cars can be a money hole i think its better to buy new if you can and when u buy new get something reliable.

I just got a 09 ford f150 which you cant get much more reliable than.

[project15]

Looks good but always watch out for car maintenance. If you have a new car hopefully you have a good like maintenance plan but if its an older car you can expect things to break down often.

My old Cadillac i ditched used to break down a lot costing me several hundred dollars at a time to fix, used cars can be a money hole i think its better to buy new if you can and when u buy new get something reliable.

I just got a 09 ford f150 which you cant get much more reliable than.

A slightly used (2-3 yr old car) would be a better choicec financially - especially if you get one with a factory warranty by going with a certified pre-owned through the dealer.

Besides, a $400 repair bill every 6 months is better than a $350 loan payment every month.

[anonymous_saver]

Reading through this makes me feel very lucky that I'm a bus, walk, bike, commuter!

I only pay $65/month (pre-tax!) on transportation. That's unlimited use of buses for the entire month. It's a great deal. So that's $780/year. About what some people pay every month for their car!