It’s with great pleasure that I announce that my car consumed just 9.3 gallons of gas during the month of February requiring only $28.89 to refill the tank for March. That is now less than my electric bill.
Trips on pubic transportation were 27.
Trips by car were 16.
Total transportation costs: $73.89. That’s $1.11 savings over last month despite a rise in gas prices by 14 cents.
Poor road conditions in February were avoided and I arrived to work on time while others found themselves late due to such conditions. I read three books, went shopping at Target, had lunch in the Short North and dinner at Planks, picked up books at the library and visited with friends at their homes all thanks to public transportation. On foot I took care of essentials such as grocery shopping, a trip to the hardware, renting movies, etc…
A colleague at work signed an apartment lease in town so that she could take advantage of the public transit subsidy and another woman and her husband are looking to buy a house in town for the same reason. All good news indeed.
After two months of putting aside the car whenever possible, I’ve lost weight. The slacks that were once a bit snug are now a bit loose. Big boxes of overly processed foods have given way to smaller more wholesome items that are easier to carry home from the market.
The heating bill has also dropped a bit because the extra thirty-minute commute time on either end allows the house to remain cooler longer. I was able to keep the house at 60 degrees for an additional 27 hours. And thanks to a federal program that rewards employers for offering a transit subsidy to their employees, I’ll no longer have to buy my monthly transit pass, thus offering further savings.
That is awesome, Jeff. I need to take the time to sit down and figure out my savings, I think that’d be interesting.
Unfortunately, having been doing it for as long as I have, I’ve now adjusted my spending to what’s available and the savings aren’t nearly as noticeable. But the other stuff, like weight-loss, etc. are still great.
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