To commute or not to commute?

  UK commuters will spend over £135,000 by the time they retire. The average commuting time into London is 74 minutes, followed by the South East and East of England, both at 56 minutes. The average UK worker will spend 400 days of their life commuting. Drivers in UK cities spent more than a day each year stuck in rush hour traffic — cost per driver, including wasted fuel and working time, was £1,168.

 The average UK employee spends £146 a month commuting, totalling £135,871 over a lifetime. Workers travelling into London spend on average £305 a month, adding up to £197,377 over a lifetime. London commuters’ cost per mile is almost twice as high as the UK average: 47p as against 24p.

 There are a few ways to calculate the cost of commuting. The money you spend on petrol, vehicle maintenance, car insurance, public transportation and parking really adds up. Time is your greatest asset — don’t waste it, use it productively. There’s also the impact on our communities and the environment from driving.

Owning a car costs more money than you may think. Considering what you spend on fuel, maintenance, insurance, license and registration, taxes and depreciation, it adds up to quite a bit. So a good option is carpooling — you can cut the cost of commuting in half by having two people share a vehicle instead of driving yourself each day.

 If you live in an area that offers public transport, you may spend less than you would commuting by car. But there is the added inconvenience of planning around timetables, and you’ll have limited space and privacy on crowded buses or trains. 

 On the other hand, public transport cuts down on your environmental impact by lessening your carbon footprint. It also gives you more time to work, read or relax during your commute.

Commuting puts more pressure on your community and environment by increasing pollution, wear and tear on roads, congestion and the risk of a crash. It also puts immense pressure on yourself.

So what is the answer? Work from home. My commute is now 30 seconds! But there are pitfalls: distractions, temptations and enjoying the comforts of home. So stay disciplined, create a proper workspace (one that is welcoming for anyone you're training), don’t allow interruptions and enjoy the fact that you’re saving time, money and the planet.