Transport
The private car was a rite of passage for me and you too probably. Getting rid of it is like cutting off a limb. Only you can do the mathematics. Consider what you could sell it for, what you would save in insurance, fuel, road tax and parking. There are alternatives: walking, cycling, bus, train and taxis.
If you have space for a vehicle you can SORN your vehicle saving road tax and insurance until better times. There is a trick to storing the battery for an indefinite time. I’ve never had to do this but you can charge it up fully and pour the acid into a glass container. Don’t get it mixed up with your pickles. When you need the vehicle poor the acid back in and leave for two hours.
Train tickets can be bought online. Try and book early and be flexible about departure times. Trains that leave around noon seem to be about one quarter of the price of early morning and evening trains. If you need to be somewhere on in the morning consider travelling the day before and checking into a cheap hotel. This can be as little as £29.
Car hire seems to have got cheaper over the last few years. It’s worth factoring in if you have a few special events a year when you need transport.
Tax exempt vehicles. In 1995 the chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, said that vehicles with a date of manufacture over 25 years old would be exempt from road tax. In 1997 Gordon Brown pegged the date to 1972. The first of January 1973 is no good! It is amusing how the 25 year rule has stuck in people’s minds. "Classic" vehicles are cheaper to insure too. I went to the local DVLA centre to double triple confirm this but you CAN import a pre 1973 vehicle and it would still be exempt from road tax once imported .
Get on your bike!