Here are five notebooks that are useful to keep in your car in the glove compartment, slipped into the holder of your sun visor or in the pocket behind the front seats.
Keeping a pencil or a pen clipped to the cover of your notebooks, means they will be ready for you to use at a moment’s notice.
Some of these notebooks are designed specifically to use for your car and should be kept there all the time.
Mileage tracker notebook
A mileage tracker notebook is useful for work, so you can track individual trips by date, start and end location, and distance traveled.
If you’re a contractor that has to claim mileage with your employer? It’s good to have a mileage tracker in your glove box, so you can quickly take it out at the beginning and end of each trip. Then at the end of the month it’s ready for your employer, or for when you do your taxes.
As a personal thing, it’s good to know what day’s you’re using the car a lot. Especially if you’re going through a lot of petrol.
The information will show you which errands to group together, so you’re not driving multiple trips to the same locations and therefore wasting petrol.
Fuel payment tracker
A fuel tracker, like the mileage tracker can be used for work and personal use.
Contractors can use it to help with expenses, when they are being paid for their mileage and other running costs for their vehicle.
Personally, a fuel payment tracker is useful, to help you work out which days are cheaper to fill up and also which vendor has the cheapest fuel.
Maintenance log book
If your car is a brand new car, you will get a log book. A 2nd hand car might not have one.
A log book only lists scheduled services and the mileage at that point you had at the service. But It won’t list the things that you need to take note of for future services.
Even though the mechanic knows the type of service to give your vehicle. Which is based on how many kilometers / miles your car has traveled.
A maintenance logbook for your vehicle is more for your own benefit. If your mechanic says, you have 4 mm left on your front brakes, your battery may need to be replaced soon and your rear brakes have 5 mm of wear left before they need to be replaced.
This information is usually given to you on a piece of paper and having that information written down in your maintenance logbook, that is kept in your glove box will be of benefit.
This is helpful for your next service so you can remind the mechanic to have a look at those particular things or simply just to keep track of the general wear of your vehicle.
Shopping list notebook
I like to keep a shopping list notebook in the car for those after work shopping trips or when my partner gives me a call and asks to pick up a few things from the store.
You won’t always use this Notebook, but it’s good to have for those times that you need to do a last minute shop and you need to get a lot of things.
This shopping list has the different sections grouped together, so it will help to make your shopping trips more efficient and faster.
Blank notebook with perforated pages
Even though everyone has a mobile phone with a note app, which can be used in place of a blank notebook. I think it is still a good idea to have a blank notebook handy in your car, in particular one with perforated pages.
Especially, for those times when you need to write down instructions for someone, like if you have to give directions, a short list of to do’s or a phone number. simply write it down and tear out the page.
A blank notebook can be used to keep the kids occupied. They can play hangman, Tic-tac-toe, squares or simply just to draw during those long car trips.
Conclusion
Keeping a notebook in your car Is inexpensive to do and when you clip a pen or mechanical pencil to the cover you’ll always have one ready for you to use.
Using pre-designed pages to gather information is an excellent way to get full use from your notebooks, When you have all the appropriate fields ready for you to fill out, making the task at hand faster to complete.
You won’t always need a notebook but when you do it will only be at an arm distance away, ready for you to use.