Hefty fuel hikes loom, but there are ways of saving

South Africans  could be set for a hefty price hike of 26c/litre for petrol and 29c/litre, that is if the current market conditions remain stable for the remainder of the week, that is according the latest figures from the Department of Energy.

On Friday higher oil prices and a weaker rand/dollar exchange rate increased the domestic underrecovery on fuel prices to 37c/litre for petrol and 48c/litre for diesel. The average underrecovery from the end of December last year to last Friday was 22.7c for petrol and 23c for diesel.

It’s expected that the new fuel adjustment will be announced on Friday, January 28 and the price hike will kick into gear around Wednesday, February 2.

Should these fuel hikes materialize, regular commuters could be adding anything from an extra R120 to R500 to their fuel bill every month, bad news for those who are still suffering from the post-festive season debt blues.

There are, however, a few ways you can beat the fuel price hike and save some cash to make up for the increased amount spent on fuel.

Check your car insurance premiums – it’s a good idea to do this once a year anyway, so with the fuel price hike looming, what better time to compare insurance quotes? You could save anything from R100 – R200 on your monthly insurance premiums.

Service your car – if your car hasn’t been serviced for a while, it’s probably not running at its optimal fuel efficiency level. Book it in as soon as possible. Yes, it might cost a little bit to have it serviced, but you’ll save in the long run.

Take advantage of loyalty schemes -  did you know that FNB offer  fuel rewards to all their clients? If you are an FNB client, take advantage of this scheme and keep an eye out for any other special offers that might be lurking around.