You’d like to save money, and you’d like to shed a few pounds… what do you do? Ditch the car commute and get on the ol bike is what I say. Crazy? Well… it worked for me and it can easily work for you as well!
When I moved to Hawaii I ditched the car. Back in Wisconsin I had a gas guzzling 6 cylinder four door domestic sedan that got about 20 mpg. I lived about 6 miles from where I worked and every time I wanted to go anywhere I’d end up driving. Moving to a more densely populated area and closer to where I work has allowed me to reduce my expenses and allows me to easily stay in shape. My wallet, and the ladies, love it! 😉
The Financials
The initial cost for a bike is minimal. I bought a bike for $100 bucks off craigslist when I moved here, then took a $15 course on how to tune up your bike at a local shop and it runs good as new now. No insurance, gas, or monthly payments necessary and if it gets stolen I’m not going to be too torn up about it. My commute is to work is about two miles because I voluntarily chose to. Even if I bought a slightly used car that offered high mpg and was simply used for practical purchases I’d still be spending a couple hundred a month. My old car, with payments and depreciation was costing me roughly $400 a month.
What Makes it Possible
The trick here really is to live within a reasonable distance to your work. If you’re 10 miles or more out it might not exactly be feasible to ride your bike. Likewise you’re probably not going to carry your kids to soccer practice on your bike, but even if you still need a car (for those who have family or an actual need for a car) I highly recommend the daily workout and decrease in gas consumption along with wear and tear on your automobile.
I realize that moving to a more densely populated area does increase the cost of living, but this model could be taken into action in any area, even rural. Especially if you’re renting you can move relatively close to your work without significantly impacting your life.
Forcing You to Get in Shape
Having only the bike to get around has forced me to workout whenever I want to go anywhere. It also helps me at the grocery store by only buying things that will fit in my backpack and limiting my purchases (because those carts are so darn big!). Through creating a forced situation I’ve learned to adapt and the side affects are stronger legs, less fat, and healthier lungs.
For many of you this probably isn’t feasible, wearing a suit (although you could change at work), no bicycle lanes, or horrible weather, may be some of the reasons, but in all honesty any single person could easily do the same if they really had the desire.
What could you do with a shorter commute, rock hard abs 🙂 , and $400 a month more?
Image from mindfrieze
I wish I could bike everywhere. My work is approx. 15 miles away (and I love my job). When my husband could bike to work, we saved money by only having one car. That was a great.
I bought a bike not too long ago. I can’t say it was cheap, but it was under $500. I do love being able to exercise without going to the gym (blasted place).
.-= Ruby Leigh´s last blog ..Day 41 – Why we eat out =-.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Debt Classroom, Ryan Schmitz. Ryan Schmitz said: How to Make $400 and Lose 10 Pounds in the Next Month: You’d like to save money, and you’d like to shed a… http://bit.ly/d3OyNI […]
i would LOOOVEE to bike to work. Unfortunately it takes me almost an hour to get to work, so that’s out of the question.
Sounds like it is working out great for you! Biking is an awesome workout for your legs (obviously), when I go mountain biking my legs just kill the next day!
.-= myfinancialobjectives´s last blog ..XML Sitemap Upgrade, RSS Corrected, Permalinks Fixed, Link Rally! =-.
I absolutely love bicycle riding. It’s one of my favourite ways of running errands and going from point A to point B. It’s even more efficient in the cities where everything is much closer together.
Kudos! Bike riding is awesome ^_^
.-= Aury (Thunderdrake)´s last blog ..Hoarding Dragon Basics – The Stock Market =-.
Awesome post. I have actually been doing this for several months now(since the recession)trying to save money. It has helped me a lot. I live in West Virginia and there are several mountains around. Where I have been working is at the base of the mountain I live in. I calculated that I save roughly $500 a month! I take it that the mountains are really hard on gas.
I love “how to save money” type of posts (wink,wink)
Thanks
.-= Joshua Berg´s last blog ..Stop Thinking and Start Doing! Choose Your Fitness Goal =-.
That’s a good point! My mom bikes a lot because she doesn’t like the gym much. Biking to work, not a good idea for her…It’s at least 35 minutes from her house in Houston’s Medical Center.
.-= LenciB: Falling Into favor´s last blog ..Recent Comments =-.
I used to bike everywhere when I lived in the city. Coming home at 3 a.m. after jamming with the band was always interesting, as was biking to college at 6 a.m. while the snow is pouring down, but other than that it was great. Unfortunately I’m a million miles away from anything now, and if I wanted to ride my bike to the grocery store I’d have to pack a map, some signal flares, a tent and file a flight plan. It’s cool that you dropped some weight doing it, though! I’ve never had much luck losing weight on… Read more »
I could bike just about everywhere I go, but hmm…I guess I’m lazy 🙂
Still, becoming un-lazy would help with things!
.-= Jackie´s last blog ..Cashing in on the Gold Rush =-.
Very nice info! A was also writing recently about cycling, it’s very useful. And here I agree with you. Thanks for sharing this, Ryan!
.-= Roman Soluk´s last blog ..Increasing your productivity at work =-.
Hawaii is definitely the place to be for exercising and biking that’s for sure! It’s too hilly in SF, and way too many cars to feel safe here.
.-= Financial Samurai´s last blog ..Oops! The World Is Coming To An End! =-.
i live in Santa Monica and they offer people $150 to walk or ride your bike into work. the reason being is parking is expensive and it helps the companies save on expenses.
i personally drive into work each and every day but i have seen friends taken the bike option and in 2 months shed considerable weight and at the same time not only save money but put an extra $300 in their wallet.
I recently moved 22 miles from work and bought a 125cc scooter. My daily commute in a car is 1 hour by interstate. On my moped, I have to stick to the side roads, it takes me 20 minutes/day longer. Costs: Car: 1994 Infiniti $3000. Tags: $65/year. Insurance: $600/year. Bike: 1996 Yamaha $1070. Tags: $30/year. Insurance is $95/year. Additional costs (helmet, rain gear, etc) have been about $100. I’ve got about $1170 in my bike. It gets 85mpg. $55/week (car) vs. $7.50/week (bike) for an extra 20-minutes/day is a no-brainer. Plus being in the open-air has cleared my allergies (it… Read more »
I’m sure I would be saving tremendously with a shorter commute and no car payment. Sounds like you’re onto something remarkable here. I commend you for the steps you’ve taken. Plus that’s one less car out on the road to pollute the ozone, talk about going green!
.-= Jarrod@ Optimistic Journey´s last blog ..What’s Next? That Is The Question =-.
[…] How to Lose 10 Pounds and Make $400 in the Next 30 Days at Planting Dollars. […]
We have 1 car and our nearest grocery store is 8 miles away. I am a stay-at-home mom and my husband commutes 45 miles one way each day with the majority of that commute on the bus. He obviously can’t bike to work BUT I could bike to the grocery store at least once a week or more as we have bikes and a bike trailer for our daughter. I’d have to start by maybe trying to get to a corner gas station but it would be so good for losing weight. Thanks for the post!
Nice article Ryan… but I would like to gain some pounds 🙂 lol
.-= Kharim´s last blog ..What To Do When You Are Not Blogging. =-.
[…] How To Make $400 and Lose 10 Pounds in the Next Month- strike two birds with one stone with this one change. (@plantingdollars) […]
Exactly, you are so right Ryan. I did the same thing. I stopped using the bus for going to work, instead using the bike. I was even faster by bike, so had more time in the morning to get ready. Sometimes, i would even walk the distance which was about 40mins each way. That was a great balance to the 9 hours sitting infront of the computer. And before i knew, i had lost 10 kilos. No joke. I would recommend everybody to bike to work or just about anywhere if you can. Once you get acustomed to the physical… Read more »
[…] Published: -Aerobic Exercise and Muscular Endurance -Bikes + Buses in Chicago -Why Female Bikers Get Harassed -Bicycling Strategy Report Summary -How to Lose 10 Pounds and Make 0 in the Next 30 Days […]