Cheap car insurance and ramblings of a car-loving mother

Cheap car insurance is a noble goal but firstly I wish to discuss why my car is such a wonderful machine. Though it is a modest Ford Focus (and not my dream car – yet) it is as good as a holiday or any home-away-from-home a busy working mother can get.

Why I love my car so much

My car is a place to be ‘me’ in. I can throw chip packets on the floor and leave coffee cups lying around it if I so desire. And I do! Just because I can! No one in my family is ‘auditing’ my car the way a family might audit a mum for a dirty bench or not-quite-white-enough socks.

I also love my car for the rest and relaxation my car grants me. My car is the one place (apart from my writing desk) where I am forced to sit down. There aren’t any dishes to do in my car or loads of laundry to hang out. I don’t have to pick up other people’s stuff in my car or walk up and down my car delivering bags to rooms or towels to bathrooms.

I can sing in my car!

My car is also a place to sing. I can sing loudly at my leisure in my car. Even if I am annoying people in my car with my singing, I can still keep singing because it is my car and I can do whatever I want it in it.

As a mum, my car is the one ‘thing’ in my life I totally own – that is mine. My kid can’t grab my car and try to drive it – unless he or she had the keys (which he or she can’t reach). He or she cannot steal my car from under my bottom and claim it as his or her own – the way my iPad is not quite mine (NQM), nor are the drawers where my socks and cosmetics live.

These items and common places are just too much fun for my three-turning-thirty and my curious eight-turning-eighty.

(Note: Did you know that an eight year old in this era has absorbed as much information as an eighty year old did 100 years ago? I digress…)

Apart from my car – she (my three-year-old) owns most other stuff in my life. She (the cat’s daughter!) owns all the rooms in my house and their contents. She owns the kitchen (fridge, pantry and cupboards), the laundry (washing baskets and pegs), all the bedrooms and bathrooms, and the backyard and shed (if she manages to sneak access somehow).

My eight-year-old also has dibs on numerous items and areas in the home. He (the cat’s son) sticks to other more curious belongings such as my headphones, my phone chargers, my computer (when I’m not on it), my stationary drawer (especially those rechargeable batteries) and more recently my little cash drawer I didn’t know, he knew, existed.

You name it – these kids have got dibs on everything in my life.

Everything… except my car.

But I’m not always in love with my car and here’s why

There are certain times of the month, quarter and year (the rego bill) that I don’t love my car as much for the escapism my car affords me and here’s why:

1. Filling up is costing me in lipstick!

Firstly, once a month I stop at a servo and fill my baby up (the Focus) and those rising petrol prices haven’t been pretty lately.

How on Earth can a girl afford lipstick if her money is being sucked down a petrol pump?

2. Creeps keep creeping insurance prices up

Secondly, I’m not too chuffed about the rising cost of insurance, which I’ve taken ‘a mental note of,’ while digging around my bank accounts online. More specifically I’m not very happy with the way I always have to keep an eye on those car insurance premiums, which seem to magically creep up without any approval from moi – the lady with the purse. 

I’m the lady with the purse! Yes I am!

I consider this pilfering (a little like my kid sneaking one of my rechargeables), so then I got all obsessed with car insurance and went hunting for some facts on the subject.

While I’m on the topic here’s a great article to help you reduce those premiums: 10 Lesser-Known Ways of Cutting Auto Insurance Costs

3. The interesting facts I dug up about car insurance in Australia

I found these facts to be quite staggering, specifically the number of cars being stolen within three months of purchase each year, which is 14,340! Woah…glad I’ve been obsessed with locking my Ford Focus up…. Still. These facts don’t justify the ridiculous cost of insurance premiums.

Thank goodness I’ve been locking my car!

4. Cars are costing me in missed facials and massages

The other reason I don’t love my car is the cost of running it! According to the Commonwealth Bank the average Aussie is paying $3854 on running and maintaining their car each year! Well, not exactly for me because I am a very frugal woman. I live in a regional area where I don’t sit much at traffic lights and I don’t really pay for parking. But still – those costs sure add up.

And here’s the most amazing fact of all!

5. Most Aussies are spending their dollars when they are NOT in the car!

Expense 1: Lollies and chips at the Servo

Most Aussies aren’t actually spending that money on the car but rather the associated costs with driving a car – like buying chips and lollies at the servo! According to the following infographic we are a chips, lollies and drinks-on-the-run loving nation with service station expenses being the number one cost for motorists across all states and territories!

Who would have thought that chips and lollies are the biggest car expense!

This is astounding but not surprising. As I’ve mentioned over and over – modern marketing is highly focused on time-poor people in a hurry who didn’t eat breakfast on their way out the door.

You gotta get fed somewhere right? And admittedly, those servo coffees are cheap at $1 each!

Expense 2: Parking

The next biggest expense for most Aussies is parking and garages, coming in at around $125 each year.

Other interesting facts in the following infographic

Here are the stats on what each state is spending the most on:

• NT: Vehicle Maintenance $918
• QLD: Service Stations $1713
• WA: Parking $125
• TAS: Auto Associations and Breakdowns $561
• ACT: Insurance Costs $527
• NSW: Tolls $336

Drumroll…And here’s the infographic!

Why I spend my time creating cheat sheets!

And all of the above is exactly why I spend my spare time putting together cheat sheets to help me and my readers cut to the chase when it comes to saving money on cars!

Check out my article: 180+ essential tips for saving on cars and petrol.

In this cheat sheet you will find valuable tips on how to save on vehicle maintenance, car accessories, insurance and buying a car.

Read more to access all the tips in this article or grab a bunch of FREE tips by reading on.