Move Changes – Travel Cost Savings

My company just moved locations from the CBD to a more suburban technology park. This series outlines the money related changes I've made for myself as part of the move.

I think the most amazing money saving moving out here has offered me is my daily travel costs.

I used to drive to work every day and park in what I thought was the cheaper option of 'earlybird parking'. I was paying $18 a day for the 'privilege', plus paying $40 a fortnight in petrol driving to and from home, which also covered my regular leisure travel.

This was a massive $5060 a year (allowing for a 46 week working year).

My company provides free shuttle buses to the campus from my nearest railway station, which I can actually walk to if I choose, or catch another bus to get to (it's about a 20 minute easy walk).

10 trip bus tickets cost $13.60, so that's a maximum of $27.20 a fortnight, assuming I catch the bus to and from the station morning and evening. I've been walking home most nights and walked to the station twice in the last two weeks, so it could stretch out longer, but for budgeting I’m assuming bus each way each day.

This is only $625.60 a year (allowing for a 46 week working year) in comparison. I haven't put any petrol in my car for the last two weeks, so I'm assuming that I can halve my petrol budget, which reduces it to $460 a year for regular driving, for a new total of $1085.60.

So a saving of just over $3970 a year! That’s best part of paying off a credit card right there, all by itself.

I'm just gobsmacked.