I spend a lot of money on commuting every month. Between me and the BF, we spend an estimated $900 a month on our cars. That includes one car payment ($400), car insurance ($120), gas ($300 – $350), and maintenance (around $200 every 6 months). We always wish that we lived in a place where cars weren’t depended on so much.
Different ways to commute:
- Walk– I wish we could walk to work, this would save soooo much money, and we would be healthier. This is definitely not possible.
- Bike– Not possible again. Where I live, nearly everything is divided by rivers, and none of the bridges have a bike lane.
- Drive– this is what I do of course.
- Bus/Subway– Kind of possible, but not what I want to do. No time for this. It would take me nearly 2 hours to get to work if I did this.
- Carpool– Wish I could carpool, but the metro area where I live is pretty big, so no one really comes from the same area.
What’s your driving situation? How much do you spend every month?
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Holly says
November 10, 2011 at 6:24 amHmm this gets you thinking! Once you add all that up it's a rude awakening of how much you spend per car, per month. Unfortunately driving is our only option as we live to far from our employment to walk/bike.
Rhitter94 says
November 10, 2011 at 6:48 amFor myself alone – about $1000.00. Welcome to the American way!
Tanner says
November 10, 2011 at 6:56 amUm… back when I was thinking whether to move or not, car expenses were definitely a topic of discussion. Having to pay over $200 in gas a month just didn't make sense, plus add to that my own time (1hr each way) commutting. I don't have a car payment (unless you count my dad's which I pay at $400/mo), my insurance is grouped at family rate, so it is less than $60/mo. I wish buses would've been an option, but that would've meant about 4hr of travel time at very odd times. Transportation sure sucks. Now that I live close to work, commute is less than 5 minutes by car, and about 40min walk (dangerous walk with many blind corners and no sidewalks for over 80% of the trip).
Stephanie says
November 10, 2011 at 6:56 amWow, this makes me really grateful for my 3 1/2 mile commute to the courthouse and my < 2 commute to the library!! I'd love to bike to the courthouse, but the only bike-friendly route has a killer hill and I don't want to show up to work all sweaty and gross. 😉 I cold probably get away with biking to the library more frequently though.My husband and I usually only spend about $200/month on gas, plus about $120 on car insurance. And no car payments at the moment, thank goodness! 😉
Anna says
November 10, 2011 at 6:57 amMy new commute is heinous and it's costing me about $325 per month (that's a commuter train plus metro). I wouldn't trade it for a car though – there are a lot of unexpected costs that can creep up on you there.
Jennifer says
November 10, 2011 at 7:22 amI do not live in a walkable city at all. Every couple of weeks someone gets hit by a car. Some die, some do not, but not worth the chance. So, biking it out as well, you take your chances biking with the traffic and that is just as bad as the walkers.Luckily, I stay home with my kiddos, and take classes on-line, so hardly any commuting, but my husband commutes – in a car, by himself. There are no public transportation options since we are in the suburbs. Carpooling is not an option because of his varied hours. Costs are around about $150 a month for him. Cheap car (no note) and well maintained.
Louise says
November 10, 2011 at 8:03 amI spend $55 a week on petrol, we have no car payments.
Penny says
November 10, 2011 at 12:39 pmI spend about $200/month all combined. No car payment and it's a hybrid so I only fill up the tank about once a month. I do buy a parking permit so I can drive to campus, and that's factored in.
Money Pincher says
November 10, 2011 at 1:11 pmI spend about $560 for car payments (last one coming up in January! yipee!)… $200 on insurance and another $200 on gas!
Michelle P says
November 10, 2011 at 3:24 pmI forgot to factor in a parking permit also. Thanks for reminding me Penny. So now my total is even higher! Ahhh not good
Holly says
November 10, 2011 at 4:58 pmYep. I spend, just myself, nearly $500/ month on my car. Ughhhhh maybe I should invest in a bicycle. I have to wear "nice" clothes so I don't think I could walk to work. I bicycle wouldn't be too bad, but I bet it would look really funny 😀 hahaha
Holly says
November 10, 2011 at 4:58 pm**A bicycle wouldn't be too bad, but I bet it would look really funny 😀 lol
Anna says
November 14, 2011 at 5:23 amYou might want to try to factor out car payments and insurance because that's just part of owning a car – which you might do even if you were able to commute to work. The real figure might just be gas related to the commute, a percentage of maintenance and anything directly related to going to and from work. This might give you a more real sense of what you pay for the purpose of commuting. Otherwise you might just be calculating what it is to own a car.