Now, if I got rid of the car altogether, I'd also save the $65 per month on the insurance, which is $780. Include some repairs and oil changes and probably somewhere around $1000 per year. Well, maybe closer to $1500, I know there's some stuff that needs fixing. I'm not including the cost of the vehicle, it's long since paid for and I think I've gotten my money out of it.
Anyway, that seems like a fairly small percentage of our income compared to what I thought it would be. Will I notice a big difference. Probably not.
If I ride my bike, my average time is about 14 minutes, but I think over time I could get that down to 10 (I'm by no means in good shape). I really don't know what the cost of maintaining my bike will be. If I decided to go all hard core and bike in the winter (-40!?) I suppose I'd have to spring for some different tires and appropriate clothing. In any event, I imagine it'd be much cheaper than keeping the car. There's definitely something to be said about the convenience of a car. My time to get to work may be roughly equivalent, but not to anywhere else that I might go.
Time is worth money... that's if you choose to pay. I always feel my time is precious, and adding 30 minutes of travel to my day robs me of time I could spend with my family or doing something else. I've always been hesitant about biking for that reason. But I've found that so far I like biking. I feel immensely more energetic, but also more tired in a good way. While I'm awake, I feel like I have more energy, but when I when I am tired, I sure am tired (I'm on my feet at work quite a bit and it's a 12 shift).
In the end, the trade offs are all positive for me, so I think I'll keep biking. The time I lose is negligible, as is the money I save. But I feel better, and I'm getting some much needed exercise in there. It also helps me to be a little less dependent on something I wish not to have to depend on too deeply.
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