10 things you should always keep in your car

Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
Our authors
, updated on June 9th, 2023       

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A car’s primary function is to take us from point A to point B, but they also serve as makeshift living environments.

When you spend 2 to 3 hours in your car on any given day, you have to keep some things at hand, just in case. Here are the 10 things you should always keep in your car.

Car manual

Obviously, you need to have your car manual inside your car, so that you can check with it when something goes wrong, or you’re unsure. All the information you need is inside, so your car manual is an essential.

Spare tyre

Self-explanatory – when you get a flat, you need a spare. And to go with it, you also need a tyre iron and a tyre jack so you can make the switch quickly and easily. Don’t go anywhere without them. In addition, you can also have a tyre repair kit.

First-aid kit

This goes without saying; you need to have access to a first-aid kit at all times, in case of an emergency. Whether it’s for you or a passenger a first-aid kit will contain all the necessary equipment to get you through until the ambulance gets there.

Water bottles

You never know when you get stranded somewhere without water to drink, clean the windshield or maybe even a wound of some sort. You absolutely need to have clean, drinkable water with you at all times.

Jumper cables

If your battery has ever died, you know what these are for. If you have never experienced that, you’re lucky, but you still need to have them, in case it does happen to you. This way, you can jump-start your battery.

Map

Since your car can take you places you’ve never been to, that means you can also get lost around those unfamiliar parts. Everyone has GPS and Google Maps now, but when your phone dies, there’s no internet or no cell phone signal, you’ll need to rely on the good old paper map.

Blanket

You never know what weather conditions you are going to encounter on the road or if you will need to spend the night in your car, at any given point. A blanket will keep you or your passengers warm.

Rags & tissues

Checking under the hood can get really messy, really fast, so you need to have access to something, to clean yourself up before you get behind the wheel again. Greasy hands are not recommended. Also, you may also need them in case there is blood or you have some other kind of emergency.

Umbrella

You’re sheltered from the elements while you’re inside the car, but what about when you need to go outside? Weather can be unpredictable, and you don’t want to be the miserable person changing their tyre in the rain, getting completely soaked through.

Flashlight

Another essential, a flashlight will come in handy in a variety of different situations, emergencies or not. You don’t want to be caught at night without one, especially if your battery is dead and you can’t use your headlights.

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