Is Your Daily Commute Worth It?
a co-worker recently decided to move into an apartment located near our office. this guy currently commutes about 35 miles each way to and from work. working remote is not an option.
70 miles a day * 5 days a week * 4.3 weeks in a month = 1,505 miles per month
that calculation doesn't even account for miles driven outside of his commute. let's be kind and assume he drives about 20,000 miles in 2006. let's assume he drives a car that gets 20 miles per gallon. so he's going to end up purchasing about 1,000 gallons of gasoline in a year. the average price for a gallon of gas in the us is about $2.65.
$2,650 per year on gas. if he's netting $40,000 from work, he's spending about 6.6% of his take home dollars on gas.
this type of math will start to happen on a regular basis at dinner tables around the country. just like my co-worker figured it out, americans will start to realize their living/working situation doesn't make economical sense. if you have a commute longer than 20 miles one way to your job, you need to start thinking about how the commute impacts your wallet. sit down and pull the numbers together and then take it a step further and ask yourself: can i afford to spend > 7% of my net income on gas?
one of the easiest ways you can cut your energy costs is by reducing your drive mileage. the easiest way to reduce your dirve mileage is by moving closer to where you work. my co-worker is ahead of the curve in making a change. he's obviously a thoughtful, intelligent guy who thinks about the future. he's a planner. that's a good thing. people who prepare are able to seize opportunity.
there's an energy crisis going on out there - it's obvious. in 2 or 3 years nobody will have a valid excuse for not being prepared. the escalation of prices is sending a major signal. are you ready to do something about it?
