Frugal Things to Keep In Your Car

“Some ideas about what I would like to hear your opinion on – what do you keep
in your car that helps with remaining frugal? “

#2-An emergency roadside kit. I don’t know if this is really “Frugal” or not, but living in the NE, I always assume everyone should have jumper cables in their car. Just in case. Usually if you have to you can find someone to jump off your car. A free good Samaritan beats the pants off price wise when compared to calling a garage. Also of course in their should be a safety triangle, small first aid kit etc etc.

Note to self: Good thing about Blog, makes you check back of car to take picture and realize someone has absconded with jumper cables. Must replace!

#3-In my car, in the winter I keep 2 hand knit acrylic fiber blankets. One I made for my daughter when I was preggo out of Red Heart yarn, the second was made by a friend. Knitters and crocheters out there will realize that although these blankets were made with love, the yarn is pretty much 100% plastic. The good thing about this is EVERYTHING washes off of it.

I keep these blankets in the car for two reasons. The second is in case of emergency, if we were to break down I would have a way to keep the kiddos a bit warmer. But the primary reason I keep them in the car is so I don’t waste gas heating up the car in the morning. We live about 3 minutes away from the village where Buddy’s nursery school is, the library, Princess’s school etc etc etc. It would take a good 10 minutes to warm up the car, just to drive 3 minutes and turn it off. That is ridiculous! Why waste that much gas?

I’ve got the kids used to jumping in the car (in their jackets, hats, gloves etc), getting buckled in and then pulling a blanket over them and doing the short ride. You can use the same technique for longer drives-when the car finally warms up they just push the blankets aside.

#4-In the case of small children, keep a spare diaper and change of clothes somewhere in the car. Yes-I know you have a diaper bag. But lets face it, we’ve all taken trips that were “just going to take a minute” that wound up taking longer and gotten stuck somewhere without our diaper bag.

When I worked that used to happen to me on the drive home from work. Their were diapers at the daycare center and home so we didn’t use a diaper bag for the 20 min trip in between. However we passed the grocery store, the Mall and Wally World on the trip, and more than once I made a stop “just to run in for something” and wound up with a diaper blowout and no diaper bag. If you don’t have a spare in the car you wind up buying an entire package of diapers at the closest place (read NOT CHEAPEST) and possibly even a outfit depending on the severity of the situation. Not Frugal.

#5- I keep a Pria Bar or two in my glove box. This started out as a diet aid for me-I knew the exact calorie content and composition so it was much better than buying a cheeseburger out. Even though they cost close to a dollar each, that is still cheaper than a lot of meals out. A frugal person might want to consider keeping a few non perishable snacks stashed in the car to stave off the urge to run through the drive-thru or to buy an expensive snack out.

Note to self: Ate last Pria bar in glovebox. Must replace!

Personally I don’t keep bottled water in the car because I have never had a problem with asking a fast food place for only a glass of ice water. I’ve never been refused, even if I haven’t bought anything else there. A single time about 4 years ago someone made me pay $.10 for the cup. Depending on your location you may want to keep a 4 or 6 pack of water in the back of the car.

#6- A homemade “Life Emergency Kit”. I made these for everyone in the family one year, and mine resides in the center console with the diapers and the umbrella! It includes everything that I could think of that someone might need while they were out and about and not have packaged into a small thrift store purse.

There is a mini (homemade) first aid kit-band aids, small Ziploc baggies with Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Alka Seltzer (trail size-free), Rolaids (trial size-free). I have a nail file, a duplicate of my lip gloss & eyeliner, a homemade mini sewing kit (ie small piece of felt with 2 shirt buttons sewn on and 2 needles stuck through threaded with white and black thread), a small notebook and pen, and probably some other items I can’t remember right now.

Having any of these items easily accessible might keep you from making an “emergency” purchase, such as those overpriced little packs of Tylenol they sell at gas stations. The hardest part is remembering to refill the medication etc after you use them so your not caught without the next time.

#7- An umbrella and a pair of sunglasses. I try to ensure that these items always get returned back to the car when we are done with them. Umbrellas are super cheap these days-every dollar store I’ve seen carries them- so there is no excuse not to have one that lives in your car. You know people buy them impulsively when it rains just so they won’t get wet walking back to their cars-Wally World and other retailers frequently have a stand that they pull out and place by the door when ever it rains for just such a reason!

If you are lucky enough to not have a prescription for glasses, or to wear contacts then you can buy inexpensive sunglasses too. I have to have prescription ones so they live in my car. Again-if you are out and about driving and the sun is in your eyes annoying the heck out of you, you are likely to plunk down the dinero for some sunglasses impulsively. If you have a pair that lives and stays in your car, well, then you are good!

#8-This really isn’t something I keep IN the car to be frugal, but rather something I do TO the car. I bought plastic floor mats pretty cheap to put over my carpet ones to try to keep the nasty salty winter mud from getting ground into my carpeting.

I also bought a bench seat cover for the back seat of my car. This matches the interior color so well that most people don’t realize it is there.

My thoughts were that both of these things help protect the resale value (if I decide to resell at some point) of my car, and also keep it looking a little better so that I don’t get sick of it. (you know, that feeling where even though you know that it doesn’t make sense you want to trade in your car that runs perfectly fine because it is starting to look run down and you are “sick of it”. No! I shall resist!)

I think that while I have two kids in carseats the back seat cover is especially important, as it really protects that upholstery from all the kid induced messes.

I paid regular retail for mine at Wally World, but I’ve heard folks say that a fitted twin sheet (ie the part with the elastic on all four corners) is the exact right size to fit over most bench style back seats-you could try that out with a twin sheet, and then if it is true either buy one new or keep an eye out for one in the thrift stores or yard sales that would go with your car, or just bite the bullet and have Mickey and Friends all over your back seat for a while (the kiddos probably would like it)

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So, that’s my list of things I actually do keep in my car that help me to stay frugal. I’m sure I could think of other things (but I don’t actually do any of them), and I’m counting on you guys to fill in any additional ideas that you use for the edification and enjoyment of all.