With more and more of us working from home, we’re feeling the benefits of that extra time with the ones we love. We don’t have to leave the house two hours before we start work. We don’t have to sit in traffic. There is also the huge plus point of not having to pay for a commute. The distance between our kitchen where we brew up to the kitchen table where we work is short and free! What is the price of that commute you’re perhaps not doing anymore and how can you save even more money?
Your Commute
The pandemic gave us all the opportunity to improve our work-life balance. Many employees saw the benefits of having staff at home and downsizing their premises. Suddenly, two to four hours of commuting into the office every day became zero-hours getting to work. Switching on the laptop at 08:55 became the new normal. Many of us used to travel into the office in our own personal cars. Something comfortable, with a decent music system and inbuilt navigation to help us on our travels. Maybe that is simply sitting on the drive for most of the working week. If you work a couple of days a week from the office, taking advantage of flexi-time, you might need to calculate how much that is costing you in petrol. By having a fuel budget, you can make sure that the increasing cost of running your car doesn’t eat too much into your household finances.
Change Your Car For What You Need Now
Of course, if the part above about your car sitting on your drive for most of the working week resonated with you, is it worth getting rid of it? Paying for the maintenance, road tax, insurance and more on a car we aren’t using is simply wasted money. Yes, you might still need a seat of wheels, but you can probably downsize your vehicle to something which suits your current situation a little bit better. You can get a good price when selling a second-hand car at the moment, maybe more than you think. That will give you some cash to put towards something more suited to what you need. Whether you’re looking for a new or used car, doing the payment calculations will help you figure out what to do. Maybe you barely drive anymore but still want the ability to drive to the shops or go and see family. Why do you need an expensive car with a huge gas-guzzling engine for that? Be smart and swap to something more suitable for your new situation.
One of the great parts about this is that you now have that extra time in the mornings and evenings to organise this. You can look into the comparison between the vehicle you own and something more suited to what you need. You can do the research and price your vehicle for sale. There is no excuse to not look into the price of fuel in your area and find the best price. Use this extra time well.
