It's rare that I find huge savings in my budget after all of these years. I've already refinanced, checked auto insurance, etc. But I recently got a new commuting tip from a coworker that is saving me $133-$333/month!!
I commute to NYC each day. In the past, I've taken the train from my town ($8 each way) then the PATH train across the river to Manhattan ($1.75/trip) for a total of $19.50/day. Multiply this by 20 work days/month and it's just under $400 (my employer pays $100).
Since Hurricane Sandy, the PATH has been out of service, so the alternative is to take the train to the ferry, which is an unbelievable $7 each way! That brings my daily commuting cost to $30/day. Multiply that by 20 work days/month and I was looking at a $500 monthly commuting cost ($600-$100 from employer). There's no word on when my PATH line will be back up and running.
In the aftermath of Sandy, everyone is figuring out new ways of getting around. A coworker told me that there is a bus that picks up from a commuter lot 5 miles from my house, and goes express into the city, dropping off 2 blocks from my office. Total cost: $267 for a 40-ticket pack (20 trips), which works out to $13.35/day (-$100 from my employer = $167/month for me).
So basically, I'm saving between $133-$333/month, I don't have to transfer from the train to the PATH, and I'm 2 blocks away instead of 6 blocks. The bus is comfortable and, on most days, has outperformed the train in terms of time door-to-door.
Although I'm sure nobody out in blogworld cares about the ins and outs of my commute, I think the point is that it's always worth revisiting your expenses and thinking through whether or not there are new ways to cut them down. Things change constantly, and ideas you may have dismissed before may make more sense now.
Major Commuting Savings
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