Over the past two years, I've been driving to the South (Calabarzon) area a lot, almost every week to visit a boyfriend. When I started seeing him, the tolls were lower and gasoline prices were okay. But now it's crazy.
Here's a rundown of my travel expenses when it's my turn to visit him:
Manila to Calamba toll: P214.00
Calamba to Sto. Tomas: P25.00
Sto. Tomas to Malvar/ Lipa/ Batangas City (depends on his mood): P16/35/67
Gasoline: P500.00 (one way)
So that's more or less P800.00 one way. P1,600.00 for the round trip. It's insane. With that money, I could've booked a plane ride to Dumaguete to visit my sister. That amount would translate to P6,400 a month and P76,800.00 per year. Good heavens, I'm rich. I try to be okay with it but the cheapskate in me just couldn't have it. I have to figure out a way to save money.
My first plan to save money was to take the service road. I would take the service road to Alabang and exit from there to the expressway. That way, I save P123.00 per trip or P246.00 two way. It's a solid plan. The drawback to this is that the service road is narrow and it doubles the travel time. More time spent driving, less time spent with the boyfriend and more exhausted. It's a good plan when you leave your house at 5 in the morning but with Manila rush hour, good luck.
Through my travels I actually discovered that if you enter Alabang and exit at Filinvest to SLEX again, you save 5 pesos. Sure, it might not seem a lot but 5 pesos will add up over time. And it's only a 10 minute detour, barely noticeable. That's P480.00/year you save. If you enter Filinvest and exit again, you save one peso. Again, not much but it adds up.
The surest way to save money is through planning the drive to the South according to the time that you need to gas up. Prices in the Metro South/ Alabang is significantly lower than here in the general area. It's a 5 peso difference. So if you need to fill the tank up, Alabang is the perfect place. Basically if you need to fill up a 20li engine, you save P100 pesos every time. P100.00 weekly savings is equivalent to P5,200.00/year. Now that's a lot.
I still have to try driving to Batangas without taking the expressway. I'm just afraid that I might get lost. I will try it one of these days though.
So there you are, I hope you find the tips here helpful.
Happy and Safe Driving!
Small but Wonderful,
Kanin D.
Here's a rundown of my travel expenses when it's my turn to visit him:
Manila to Calamba toll: P214.00
Calamba to Sto. Tomas: P25.00
Sto. Tomas to Malvar/ Lipa/ Batangas City (depends on his mood): P16/35/67
Gasoline: P500.00 (one way)
So that's more or less P800.00 one way. P1,600.00 for the round trip. It's insane. With that money, I could've booked a plane ride to Dumaguete to visit my sister. That amount would translate to P6,400 a month and P76,800.00 per year. Good heavens, I'm rich. I try to be okay with it but the cheapskate in me just couldn't have it. I have to figure out a way to save money.
My first plan to save money was to take the service road. I would take the service road to Alabang and exit from there to the expressway. That way, I save P123.00 per trip or P246.00 two way. It's a solid plan. The drawback to this is that the service road is narrow and it doubles the travel time. More time spent driving, less time spent with the boyfriend and more exhausted. It's a good plan when you leave your house at 5 in the morning but with Manila rush hour, good luck.
Through my travels I actually discovered that if you enter Alabang and exit at Filinvest to SLEX again, you save 5 pesos. Sure, it might not seem a lot but 5 pesos will add up over time. And it's only a 10 minute detour, barely noticeable. That's P480.00/year you save. If you enter Filinvest and exit again, you save one peso. Again, not much but it adds up.
The surest way to save money is through planning the drive to the South according to the time that you need to gas up. Prices in the Metro South/ Alabang is significantly lower than here in the general area. It's a 5 peso difference. So if you need to fill the tank up, Alabang is the perfect place. Basically if you need to fill up a 20li engine, you save P100 pesos every time. P100.00 weekly savings is equivalent to P5,200.00/year. Now that's a lot.
I still have to try driving to Batangas without taking the expressway. I'm just afraid that I might get lost. I will try it one of these days though.
So there you are, I hope you find the tips here helpful.
Happy and Safe Driving!
Small but Wonderful,
Kanin D.
posted from Bloggeroid
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