Saving Money

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Roam Tags are a device for traveling around Sydney, using roads like the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Eastern Distributor require you to pay tolls and this handy little device does this for you and then bills your credit card each month that your account is under $10.

The problem I have with this setup is that they charge you $50 to get given the device for your car when you sign up, which is refunded when you close the account. In the next year, the NSW Goverment intends to make sure that all toll booths are automatic, thus requiring an E-Tag from Roam or the likes.

My question is this; If we MUST have a tag to travel in Sydney - when will we ever get our $50 back?

Though we try to save money on cars, get cheap greenslips and minimise our spending - we still get businesses that charge $50 just for the sake of getting operating capital to invest with.

Imagine this; if we had a tag for many years to come, say another 40 years of driving, had you of invested that $50 in a high interest savings account today - you would have $450 at a small interest rate of 7%. Even better, if you added $10 a month to the account with your $50 every month for 40 years - you would have $12,000 in todays prices, meaning probably over $300,000 in 40 years time with inflation.

Would love to hear from other readers on this so please feel free to comment.