How I bought a bike that paid for itself in savings over seven weeks

DRIVING to work was time consuming and bad for my wellbeing, but it was also costing me $5000 a year more than it had to, until I made one change.

I AM the proud owner of a positive cash flow pushbike. Well, perhaps more ‘positive savings flow’.

It doesn’t generate extra money, but has paid for itself since I purchased it in January and now saves me more money.

LIFEHACKS: Airbnb hosting can help pay down the mortgage

The idea came to me while sitting in traffic, watching a green light turn amber and then red in the distance, despite the fact I had not moved an inch since the last red light.

I was spending two hours a day in traffic, just to pay $17 for early bird parking, $10 in tolls and $10 a day in petrol costs; $185 a week all up just to have a bad time.

In many world cities one could simply jump on a cheaper, faster public transport system and be whooshed off to work, but unfortunately, Sydney’s public transport takes as long as driving and is only marginally cheaper.

Where I live, public transport to work would require a bus, a ferry and finally a train or 40 minute walk.

Or, a different bus taking twice as long as the bus/ferry combo, still followed by the train or walk.

In the interest of fitness, both physical and fiscal, I decided to purchase a modest, affordable pushbike, which I could ride to the wharf and lock up, before ferrying to the city and doing the 40 minute walk.

A new bike can pay for itself in savings when used for commuting.

It would mean incidental exercise and significant savings.

I bought a decent bike for $500 (I won’t be winning Le Tour on it, but it has what I need) and spent another $150 on helmet, lock, lights and pump.

The ride to the ferry took 15 minutes- faster than the bus- and the ferry fare of $6.50 each way meant I had saved plenty by the time I got to the city. The 40 minute walk was actually quite enjoyable. I’ve always liked the efficiency of getting basic exercise done while getting somewhere I need to be anyway.

In total, I was at work in 75 minutes- roughly the same as when I drove. But rather than spend $37 a day to do so, I had spent $13. I also used the ferry ride to clear some emails.

A $24 saving each day added up to $120 a week, meaning in take just six weeks I would recoup the cost of the bike. Now here I am, seven weeks later, with a positive savings flow pushbike.

Of course, there are challenges involved.

Rainy days are not much fun for bikes, ferries or walking, so I will have to drive sometimes anyway.

HOLIDAYS: How I saved $2.5k on a $10k holiday spend

The other challenge is that they sell beer on my ferry ride home, which is hard to resist after walking 40 minutes back to the ferry at the end of the day, especially in the warmer months. Those beers could knock around $8 a day off my savings, so I should avoid them or at least keep it to Friday afternoons.

Taking challenges into account, I think I can estimate savings of $100 a week- more than $5000 a year- thanks to my bike. Even $50 a week would net me $2500 a year and the best thing about saving money instead of earning extra is that there are no tax obligations attached!

That and a few lost kilos here and there from the extra activity.

Originally published as How I bought a bike that paid for itself in savings over seven weeks