In 1979 South Africans became accustomed to sky rocketing fuel prices, long queues and rationing. Petrol per litre was a staggering 38 cents! Imagine that!! Most wondered if we would ever recover from all the resultant price increases.
Fast forward 33 years and we are now paying more than R26 per litre.
South Africans and particularly pensioners, who are on fixed incomes,
are desperate to try and make their Rand stretch.
The YEI team understands the pressure that Pensioners are under and have put together 5 fuel saving tips to help you the SA pensioner.
5 Fuel saving tips
- Airconditioning – When you use your air-conditioner, you place an extra load on the car’s electrical system which means your car burns more fuel. Turn this off when not needed to keep your consumption down.
- Tyres – Check your tyres pressure on a regular basis as under-inflated tyres can affect your cars consumption. Remember though that over-inflated tyres can have the same effect as well as place pressure on your tyres which could cause them to burst, putting your life at risk as well as potentially costing you money to replace. Most vehicles have a sticker on the drivers door or inside the fuel cap detailing what pressure is optimum for your vehicle and for the load it is carrying.
It is also vital to not drive with tyres that are over worn as once again this could be dangerous and will definitely affect your cars consumption. - Servicing – Make sure that your car is serviced regularly as a well serviced car will perform better and use less fuel as a neglected vehicle.
- Driving – It is important to drive smoothly as accelerating too fast or not maintaining a constant speed will affect performance. Remember that newer vehicles have a gear change indicator which is designed to tell you when to change for optimum driving. If your vehicle has cruise control then make sure to use it on long trips as this will reduce your consumption.
- Drag – remember that anything that adds to the drag on your vehicle will add to your consumption. Remove roof top tents, roof racks etc and remember that open windows also add to the drag and will cause your car to burn more fuel.
These tips may seem inconsequential.
However, when combined, they may contribute to a significant saving
on what is becoming a huge fuel bill on a daily/weekly basis.
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It never ceases to amaze me when I read your articles and tips for “pensioners”. Surely the target of this information should be for “retirees” not for pensioners that are not in a position to afford what is offered as a “special”.
There is a difference between a pensioner and someone who has retired from a well paying job and has been able to afford a non-state pension throughout their life. For those on a state pension who can barely afford to buy groceries with their pension, its not a ‘special’ to get 30% off something that is way above their budget. The 5 tips to save fuel above do not apply to such ones who don’t have air conditioning in their car and cannot send the cars regularly for service. These ones are the pensioners
Maybe consideration can be given to such ones that will help them in more practical ways.
Thank you for your other interesting articles.
Dear Doug
Thank you for your comments which are thoughtfully received. The definition of a “pensioner” is a person who receives a pension, especially the retirement pension (from the Oxford Dictionary). However, I understand where you are coming from, where in South Africa, it is commonly thought of as the pensioner receiving the SASSA Old Age Grant, and a retiree having retired, but not necessarily from a well-paying job. We do a lot of work for SASSA pensioners at YEI – behind the scenes. However, we will take all your points under consideration. Thank you for taking the time to write in – all opinions are well received and most welcome.
YEI Editor
Marilynh ….. In case you didn’t know: It’s called Older Person’s Pension. Not Old Age Grant. (Grants are for incapititated people, due to illness (disability grant) or absent fathers (child grant.)
HI Shameelah
Thanks for your comments – much appreciated. I would agree that “Older Person’s Pension” sounds better and more logical. However, according to SASSA, the terminology used for the SASSA pension is “Older Persons Grant” – please see https://www.sassa.gov.za/Pages/Older-Persons-Grant.aspx, and https://youve-earned-it.co.za/site/sassa-south-african-social-security-agency-older-persons-grant/
Warm regards
Marilyn, YEI