Hey all,
I am sure many of you can surpass me greatly on this feat, but I wanted to share my accomplishment in case anyone is considering cutting their commute and just needs an extra push. I'd like to share how I started, what benefits it has had so far, and where we can go from here. It really is amazing how this one small tweak has changed my life, and I'd like to keep this focused on just that change.
One year ago I decided to take another step towards saving money (likely after reading
Curing your Clown-Like Car Habit). I was also finding myself being very stressed after driving in rush hour, and the parking garage at work didn't help. I made a deal with myself that I would ride the bus to work for just one week, and see if it was doable.
Fast forward a few weeks: I'm still riding the bus, I'm less stressed out when I get to work, I'm happier when I get home, and I've started reading more books; all for the low cost of giving up a little flexibility. Where I live a bus pass is $1.50/day, which is less than I'd spend on gas. At this point, I started playing with the idea of biking to work and found a safe bike route. I tricked myself the same way as before: I'm not making a major life change, I'm just trying something new.
Since then, I now have a great system of taking the bus to work on bad weather days, and biking otherwise. Because of this lifestyle tweak, the following wonderful things have happened:
- My wife and I only need one car
- I am generally more productive at work (especially on biking days)
- I am very rarely stressed out when I get home
- It builds exercise directly into my day, without needing to go out of my way
- Estoy estudiando español en el autobús
- I have made a good (frugal!) friend who rides the bus
- I have reduced our gasoline consumption by ~150 gallons per year
To improve further, there are two changes I'd still like to make. First I would like to slowly change my definition of "bad weather" so I will bike to work more often. Then I would like to downgrade our one car to something more reasonable, but this is a decision DW needs to get on board with and I am being patient.
What positive changes in your life have you seen by skipping the daily car commute?