Your Daily Commute's Impact on Your Wallet

How much money do you spend on your daily commute? How much money do you need to spend before you even arrive at school or work? The answer is likely far more conservative than we want to admit.

As we continue writing about little savings I wanted to get into the topic of your daily commute.

What’s the point of saving money on your daily commute?

If you actually sit down to calculate how much money you spend on your daily travel you’ll be shocked to find out how much it really is. Driving to work/school can get pretty expensive. Since this series is about small savings I wanted to look at how we can save money on our daily travel. Another benefit is that we simply spend so much time on our travels, we might as well try to save a few bucks along the way.

What are the best ways to save money on your daily commute?

Carpool with friends.

This is by far the best way to save money on your daily commute. It’s also the most obvious solution for most of us as well. Why is carpooling such a good idea?

  • Less wear and tear on your car.
  • You can sleep a little longer.
  • Save money together.
  • You can see which co-workers are super cranky in the morning.
  • It beats the bus.
  • Have you ever tried to organize a carpool at work?

Take the bus.

Alright I know that this is an easy answer. I also know that taking the bus isn’t always feasible. Don’t yell at me yet. I’m just suggesting that you try taking the bus once in a while. It could work out for you. You might realize that it’s the best way to travel. You might end up hating it. I personally got fed up with it on a daily basis. Give it a try once in a while.

Ride your bike.

Once in a while I’ll ride my bike to work. I find that it provides me with some excellent exercise while saving some money. You might not always have time to ride your bike on your daily commute, but it’s worth trying at least once a week. My recommendation to you guys is that you pick one day next week where you’ll ride your bike to work or school. Let me know how it goes.

 What’s my experience with saving money on the daily commute?

I spent many years taking the bus to college. It was a $6 round trip and I got pretty much all of my studying/home work done in the one hour ride each way. I found that it make perfect sense to take the bus since I would travel during peak hours and I usually crammed for my exams.

My last semester of college I ended up working full-time and I really couldn’t find a way to save as much money on my commute. The reason for this was that I had to travel a decent distance from class to work in a short period of time. The other problem was that my last year schedule wasn’t as flexible as it was the first few years. So long story short I was stuck spending more money on my daily commute.

Ask the readers– how do you save money on your daily commute? Does it even matter? Is it worth it?

Check out the rest of the Little Savings Series:

Holding a Yard Sale For Extra Cash.

(photo credit: kecko)

Martin Dasko

Martin Dasko