Do you pay for air?

[WillitFit]

I'm very much a look after the pennies kind of person. I know cancelling Netflix and stopping the daily coffee, buying fewer designer tshirts isn't going to buy a house, but it can buy a holiday, for example.

DS1 very much has an attitude of "it's only a couple of quid/a fiver/£20" and to my mind fritters away a lot of his money. Which is fine, it's his money afterall, but it makes me feel like I've failed in his financial education.

I asked him this morning if he knows how to put air in his tyres because I needed to do mine and would show him "I go to the garage ,it's only 50p for 5 mins".

I need to give up! Paying for air when we have perfectly good easy to use equipment to do it for free!

The ones at the garage do it automatically, I do mine there, a £1 well spent.

The one we have does it automatically. You don't even have to pump!

I strongly suspect I spend less on air than I would have done on a pump. And I generally notice it needs doing when I'm not close to home.

Frankly, I'd just be happy he's putting air in. There are bigger battles.

Ah nah. The garage all the way. I spend about 10 minutes trying to remember which PSI each time.

How much did you air machine cost you?

Your*

Yep, I looked at buying one, I would need to fill my tyres at least 50 times, I do them twice a year.

What equipment do you have?

I have none so I pay for air. It's no biggie though.

Yes I pay for air. I’m not a spendthrift at all but you sound a bit miserly moaning about him paying for air. I mean, if you are ‘giving up’ because he doesn’t mind paying 50p, bit of an extreme reaction.

Yep, I looked at buying one, I would need to fill my tyres at least 50 times, I do them twice a year.
I di them every month, dh does his fortnightly and so do our two lads when they lived with us.
The pump was about £25 in a prime sale so we've had our money back a while ago!

I'm careful but I don't think it'd the price as much as the longevity/usefulness. £1 to do my tyres is fine. £3 on a coffee on my own to take away I see as a waste but £3 on a coffee to sit with a friend and catch up is fine. I'd rather pay £100 on a classic dress (not necessarily designer, but good quality) I can wear for 10 years than 10 dresses for £10 I'd only get a year out of.

But the "it's only a few quid" mindset does annoy me. Usually the "just a few quid" item isn't needed. I'd rather put the few quid towards something else. It depends how often though too. On holiday it's fine, but everyday "few quid" things no. It all adds up.

But until a few years ago we didn't have the spare money to afford spur of the moment purchases so I think I haven't let go of worrying about it all adding up.

You sound a bit tight (sorry)

I don't know, late DH bought it decades ago and it's definitely true, like father like son, he liked to buy an necessary gadget too! But we have it now so there's no cost on using it.

You can buy them now for about £25 and should have something in your car in case you need it on a journey anyway, surely?

My car has a pump so I use that now. My old one didn’t so I just used the machines at the petrol station then

I do my tyres when they shout at me - about once a year I reckon!! 50p a go is definitely the best option

I couldn’t get worked up about this.

I check my tires at the garage maybe every few months, so only a couple of pounds a year!

Both of our cars have run flats anyway, and came with those little emergency can things in the boot you can spray in so all covered!

I'd be more concerned about the £20 is nothing mantra 😂

I'm not "worked up about it" and it's not really about the air, it's the constant it's only a couple of quid. How many times a day/week/month can you do that before it's really quite a lot?

As for me being miserly, I fear the DC have had it so good they can't possibly understand what it is to need that couple of quid!

I've never actually put air in my car's tyres. 🙄 I do pay a euro to get my bike tyres pumped as I hate doing it. Money well spent. You probably spend money on something else that I wouldn't. It's just personal preference.

What does the electricity cost to run the pump at home?

No idea about air as we have our own pump. We use it on three cars and a motorbike, and daughters friends have used it too. Was a godsend when dd had a slow puncture until we could pay for a new tyre.

I hate the its only a fiver mentality too. Funny how everyone looks to me to pay for things in an emergency (bc I'm the only one who saves).

Not 50p for 5 mins 😆

My last 3 cars have come with a portable inflator that plugs into the cigarette lighter and inflates the tyres that way. Totally free and no need to go to the garage to pump up the tyres.

If you do your air at the garage, you are pretty much guaranteed to do it to the wrong PSI, because PSI is meant to be measured on cold tyres.

Except you just drove to the garage and warmed them up. 🙄

How often do you need to pump your tyres up to be really cost effective ? Surely people just buy a pump just to make it easier if they need to pump up one day . I had a slow punchers one day a borrowed a pump off a colleague but apart from that I’d just go garage it’s 50p-£1 every once in a while . If it was daily or weekly I can see your point on cost but it’s not .