Everything seems to cost more these days. From insurance to mortgages, food to fuel, it is important to make money go further by making savings where you can. Parking is a large cost for many people, particularly those who work in city centres or regularly have to park in a public car park for work. Here are 4 great ideas for saving money on parking charges, which could leave you with more money for the things you really want.
1. Choose to park and ride
Many city centres now operate park and ride schemes that allow you to park for a heavily discounted rate and then catch a free or very cheap bus into the city centre. This service is usually council run in the hope to reduce congestion and pollution in the city centre.
If the town or city you work in doesn’t have such a scheme, you may still find that parking in the suburbs and catching a public bus into the centre of the town works our much cheaper than using expensive central car parks. This may mean getting up half an hour early in the morning, but considering car parking in town centres can cost from £6.50 / €8 to £15 / €18 per day or more, the savings over a month could be significant.
2. Rent someone’s driveway
People live in towns and cities all over the world. Most people go to work during the day. This means that, all over the city where you work, other people’s driveways are unoccupied for most of the day, at just the time that you want to find a cheap parking space. The entrepreneurs at parkatmyhouse.com and similar sites have seen this opportunity and have set up a site where you can find a parking space in someone’s private driveway or garage for a fraction of the cost of using public parking.
3. Avoid parking tickets
If you have gone to all the trouble of finding the cheapest practical car park in town, it makes no sense to then rack up a fine, so make sure you are parked in the right place and that you have paid the correct fee. If you do get a ticket, you can often reduce the cost of this significantly by paying it early. As well as this, you can often appeal the charge if you think it was unfairly issued, and if successful the fine could be waived altogether.
4. Do your homework
Spending a bit of time doing some research can be time well invested, as in many towns and cities there are hidden ‘free’ parking spots, if only you know where to look. Sometimes these spots can be in side streets, or supermarket car parks with no restrictions on parking time. It may mean you have a little walk to get to your final destination, but the five or ten minutes you spend walking will only make up for the time you usually spend trying to find the right change for the meter.
PHS Hadjizacharias is an independent professional firm in Cyprus, providing International Corporate Financial services including Business Administration, management, taxation. For more information visit our website http://www.phsacca.com or our LinkedIn Company Page