8 Frugal Reasons to Start Bike Commuting Today

Since 2000, there has been a steady rise in the number of bicycle commuters across the United States. The movement is catching on, and you may have already seen your coworkers commuting by bicycles. This may leave you wondering if biking to work is worth its weight in gold. Check out these eight reasons why biking to work is a smart financial decision.

1. You Can Skip the Gym Membership

   

   An average person weighing 185 pounds will burn 327 calories while biking at a moderate speed for half an hour. That’s wonderful news for health-conscious savers because commuting to work immediately replaces the need for a costly gym membership.

2. You Save Gas Money

   

   Another wonderful way to identify the value of biking to commute to work is by calculating how many miles you commute every week. By understanding how many gallons of gas you saved by riding a bicycle, you can calculate how much money that you save every week that you bike to work.

3. The Government Could Pay for Your Bicycle Commute

   Image source: bikeradar.com

   You might be shocked to find out that you may qualify for benefits that were mixed into the stabilization of the economy after the 2008 recession. This nice benefit gives bikers that commute to work up to $20 of tax-free cash ever single month to help purchase, maintain, and store bicycles. That throws an extra couple hundred bucks into your pocket. You can find more information on page 20 of this document. If you find yourself in the right place, you could find yourself with free transportation through each fiscal year.

4. Biking Helps You Unwind for Free After Work

   Image source: thoughtco.com

   Work can be stressful and it can leave us with plenty of reason to unwind before we get home. Luckily, biking home gives you the perfect opportunity to unwind and avoid making any unwise turns on your way home. Biking for your commute to work is a perfect way to destress as you transition from a difficult work day back to your personal life.

5. Biking Helps Increase Focus

   

   Employees who exercise before work are 15% more productive than the employees who are inactive before work. Finding yourself with an increased level of productivity puts you in the perfect position to earn a raise. Another added benefit to increased production comes from having an extra opportunity to prepare yourself for your day as you commute to work. This extra little time to focus will give you a competitive edge to earn a well-deserved raise. While most of the benefits for biking to work show immediate financial gains, the subtle benefit increased focus and production could make a huge long-term impact at work.

6. You’ll Spend Less at Stores

   Image source: bradleyfarless.com

   Sometimes we have to make time to pick something up before or after our work day, and we all know that walking into stores can be a dangerous game to play. By scheduling routine errands to and from work, you’ll be able to walk in with a mindset where you pick up exactly what you need and then leave. While this money-saving perk takes a little planning to execute, it’s a wonderful way to keep your pocket in mind while you’re making necessary runs. Exercise and destressing have both been known to increase mental discipline.

7. Biking Eases Up Long-Term Wear on Your Car

   Image source: sandiegoinjurylawyerblog.com

   Every mile that you drive your car adds up to wear on your engine by wearing out your belts, and other critical components of the engine. However, saving the engine is only the beginning of overall wear that you could save your car from. Every time that you hit your breaks you wear out your tires and breaks and every mile that you drive pulls you closer to an oil change. While bikes do have to be maintained as well, it’s much cheaper to keep up with a simplistic bicycle than it is a complicated engine. The total yearly cost of a car is a staggering $9,000, so it's safe to say that cyclists will be saving thousands of dollars over the long run.

8. Biking Decreases Your Risk for Sickness

   

   Biking will allow you to live two years longer. Another positive addition is that the same study declares that you’ll experience an average of 15% less sick days throughout the year. That’s great news if you’re looking to maximize the amount of money that you make throughout every fiscal year. It's also believed that cycling for just half an hour a day could cut the costs of health care to over $500! That’s another huge financial gain from simply using your bike to get to work!

Overall, biking to work can be a smart financial decision and it’s a perfect choice if you’re serious about being frugal and putting extra cash into your pocket. On top of the immediate financial gains, this article at Livestrong proves that biking can even support healthy brain chemistry that’s perfect for creating optimal work performance.