So my first post about going green is one that was forced upon me. I won’t get into the details but at the beginning of May 2008 my Jeep Grand Cherokee’s transmission went out. This twisted my arm into going green on transportation, although I could have gotten a car since. I am going to detail the money saved and green house gases saved over a course of a year, even though it has been over a year for me. This just makes it easier to digest.
First, a round trip drive to and from work is about 33 miles. My Grand Cherokee was averaging about 15 miles per gallon. Obviously your mileage will vary, but that is what I was averaging. On average I work about 255 days per year. This is 52 weeks x 5 days a week x 5 holidays a year. I have not taken any vacation time in the last year so this is easy to figure.
So in the course of a year I would have travelled 8415 miles. At 15 miles per gallon this is 561 gallons of fuel per year just to travel to work. Although gas prices have fluctuated wildly over the last year let’s just use the current gas prices, so I will use $2.65 per gallon. This means my fuel cost for the last year would have been $1486.65. That is real money saved and in my pocket. This is a little over $120 a month saved.
Since I work downtown I also have to pay for parking. Humana is a great company to work for so they subsidize parking, making it $15/month. Over a year that is $180 in parking cost that I saved.
So, what are my current costs to get to work? Absolutely $0. Humana, as I said is a great company, and they fully pay for use of TARC. If they had not it would be $42 a month, thus $504. If Humana had not paid for this I still would have realized a financial savings of over $980.
So what about all the travel outside of work? Obviously it is possible to survive without a car in Louisville. I have done it. I am fortunate enough to live next to just about every store that I need. Within walking distance I have a Kroger, Blockbuster, Supercuts, tanning salon, the all important liquor store, gas station, and various restaurants. I do not have a Target or Wal-Mart near me, so in those cases I usually have friends nearby that I go with.. or, as luck would have it, the girl I am dating would go with me. I always thought not having a car would keep me from dating, but understanding my reasoning there hasn’t been much of an issue at all.
So, I am going to go ahead and assume an average 12,000 miles a year driving. That gives me a real cost savings of over $2100. You surely can not argue with those numbers! Is it worth it to drive to work for those cost savings? Obviously only you can answer that. My son does not live in the area so I do not have to worry about doctors visits, etc. Also, I have a very typical 9-5 job, so I do not have to worry about working late and missing the bus. In my case, the bus is by far the best option. I do not have to worry about traffic, weather, or any issue on a drive to work. I am able to read the news, text my friends, or just chill out if I want. All of which are not recommended while driving.
This post is getting awful long, so stay tuned for the next segment. I think I will break this up into three segments… The financial gains, the environmental savings, and an overall synopsis.
BTW, If you want to see your budget and financial trends, Mint.com makes that very easy. Try them out, I use them religiously and it really does show you where your money is going!
Also, want to see how green or ungreen your car is and see your annual costs? Go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm and pick your car… it may surprise you!
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