How to Save Money Biking to Work

What if I told you there’s a way you can save money, improve your mental and physical health, and get where you need to go all at the same time?

If you haven’t guessed it yet, I’m talking about the tried and true trusty ol’ bicycle.

WAIT! Before you click away because you think biking isn’t for you, let me just crunch a few numbers about this ultimate frugal hack first…

How Biking More Can Make You Rich

According to AAA, it costs approximately $9,282 to own a new car annually. That includes maintenance, gas, insurance, and the cost of the vehicle itself! Depreciation is a beast.

To compare this against biking, you can purchase a decent new road bike for around $800, and you can probably expect to spend about $350 each year on bike maintenance (that’s assuming you don’t head to YouTube and go the DIY route!).

If you were to forgo purchasing a new car and opt for a bike instead, you would save $8,132 the first year, and $8,932 for each year after that. That’s an average yearly savings of $8,532 – assuming your bike lasts you ten years.

I don’t need to tell you that this isn’t chump change. If you saved and invested the extra $737 you’d find yourself with each month, you would end up with around $128,119 after just ten years.

Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s get into the ways in which biking can totally enrich your life. There are so many other benefits than just to save money biking to work! and talk about how to get around some of the potential challenges that biking might present.

1. Biking more can save you money!

As we discussed before, biking can save you tons of money each year. And you don’t have to forgo driving altogether to see these savings.

Even if you don’t decide to eliminate a car from your life, and just use your bike for those quick errand runs, you’ll still be able to save meaningful money as well, probably to the tune of $1-2k each year!

You might also even be able to get a discount on your car insurance if you bike more and drive less. About half of the trips we make in our cars are short trips of less than 4 miles, which are perfect for biking. Many insurance companies offer sweet discounts to drivers who put less than 7500 miles on their car each year, so be sure to call up your insurance company to find out if this is a perk they offer!

Another cool incentive — some cities and municipalities will pay you to bike! For example, here is Atlanta’s program. It’s definitely worth seeing if something like this exists in your area!

2. Biking can improve your health!

It’s no secret that moving more is almost always a good thing. Biking can get you where you need to go, all while improving your health!

Cycling comes with a myriad of health benefits. It can strengthen the muscles in your legs, enhance your balance and coordination, and advance cognitive function. It can even improve your cholesterol levels, meaning that it can decrease the risk of stroke and heart attacks.

Plus, it can even upgrade your mental health and make you happier. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins which can improve your mood and reduce stress.

Best of all, it can even save you time. If you’re someone who typically needs to block out an hour to work out each day, commuting by bike can absolutely replace some of those workouts.

The physical and mental benefits of biking are myriad. It’s kind of like a miracle drug!

3. Biking is FUN!

One word you’ll never hear used to describe a rush hour commute is “fun.”

Biking is great because it offers a way to turn something as mundane as going to work or to the grocery store into something a little more light and fun!

It’s easier to stop and chat with your neighbors when you’re on a bike, and you might even be able to discover cool places in your town that you didn’t know existed before when you’re not blitzing past in your motorized vehicle.

Plus, it provides the opportunity to make it a social event. Grab your bestie and have them accompany you on your bike ride. You’ll be able to chat the entire way, all while getting in some extra exercise.

Biking doesn’t just need to be a solely utilitarian pursuit. It’s a great way to connect more with your community and your surroundings in ways that you just wouldn’t be able to from the driver’s seat of a car. Plus, it can even make for a super fun and frugal date idea!

4. It’s better for the environment!

If you love mother nature, then it’s all the more reason to hop on a bike. Bikes are the most energy efficient forms of transportation on the planet. Biking uses between 50-80 times less energy than cars when traveling the same distance.

According to UCLA, swapping out just one car trip for a bike ride can cut down a person’s carbon emissions by around 67%! Plus, the more people who op to bike instead of driving, the less noise pollution a city experiences. This makes the environment better for everyone in our city or town.

Just another reason why biking is a win-win for both us as individuals, our wallets, and the Earth!

The Downsides of Biking:

While biking has a ton of benefits, there are a few downsides to biking that tend to prevent people from jumping right in. The good news is that a lot of these have simple solutions that can help biking to still make sense in your life.

1. You get sweaty

One of the reasons we hear that people don’t want to swap their car commute for a bike ride is that they don’t want to get all sweaty for work, which is totally understandable!

A good solution to this can be to bring a bag with fresh clothes in it. That way you can change once you get to work. Or, you can keep commuting by car, and use the bike for those less important errands where you can afford to get a little sweaty.

Another potential solution is to go the e-bike route. An e-bike has a motor which can assist you while you’re pedaling. You’ll still get some exercise, but likely won’t end up dripping with sweat the same way you might on a road bike!

E-bikes are like a gateway drug back to traditional bikes. It’s true that they’re more expensive. But they’ll still cost you way less than a car, even a really old one.

2. It takes too long

Okay, so this excuse can be totally legit sometimes. If you’re driving for miles and miles on the highway to get to work, then you get a pass. But if most of the places you’re driving are in town, you’d be surprised that it doesn’t take that much longer to get there if you take a bike.

Around town, factoring in traffic, lights and those slow as molasses school zone speed limits, you’re likely only driving around 18 miles per hour. Average biking speed comes in just below that, at around 15 miles per hour.

While it may not make sense for everyone’s commute, unless you live in a super rural area, you can probably run errands around town almost as quickly as if you were driving.

3. The weather isn’t good enough

Again, this can be a totally legitimate excuse if you’re living somewhere with harsh winters or dangerously hot summer heat waves. Biking through snow is difficult and dangerous. And you may opt to drive in an air-conditioned vehicle if it’s 100+ degrees. But, I’d wager that most of you reading this live somewhere with relatively temperate weather for at least part of the year.

However, buying some good winter biking gear can certainly help to make biking in the colder months possible for many folks. A good pair of gloves, a quality rain jacket and rain pants can go a long way in keeping you warm and dry during the colder months!

4. Your city lacks bike infrastructure

Again, this problem does bear some weight. Definitely don’t go riding your bike on the interstate like a crazy person because “the people at How To Money told you to.”

There’s a big difference between your city being “not bike friendly” and dangerous, and you’ll have to assess that risk on your own. However, just because it’s not a great city for biking doesn’t mean it can’t be done! Consider biking on less busy streets if the major roads don’t have bike lanes. At least until you’re comfortable enough that you can handle that more stressful trip without issues.

Plus, if you’re totally sold on biking but don’t think your city is bikeable, it could be time to consider moving to a different town. We know this won’t make sense for everyone. But we do believe that biking regularly brings so many benefits to your life that for some folks, this could be totally worth it!

5. “I don’t want to wear spandex”

Believe it or not, you don’t actually have to wear spandex to hop on a bike. I know right- it’s shocking!

I think a lot of people get caught up in the fact that they don’t see themselves as cyclists. But once you put yourself up on that bike, you’re doing the dang thing! You’re a cyclist, whether you’ve been riding for just a single day or for decades.

How to Buy a Bike

So, we’ve convinced you to save money biking to work. You believe that biking can bring some serious positivity into your life, but your old bike is caked in rust, or maybe you don’t have a bike at all…

Here’s how you can get on the roads safely without breaking the bank.

1. Can you fix it up?

If you’ve got an old bike that is solidly built but just needs a little TLC, repairing it will likely be the cheapest option. If it just has a flat tire or a rusty chain, it should be a pretty simple fix. You can take it to your local bike shop, or hit up YouTube and DIY your repair.

2. Buy a used bike

Buying used is a great way to save some money on a “new to you” bike. You can usually snag a great deal on a used bike on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslit, and get a seriously good quality bike for way less than the sticker price.

3. Get a great deal on a new bike

Getting a new bike can make sense for a lot of folks. And you’ll still come out on top because you’ll save money biking to work.

REI and Bikes Direct are two great sites where you can get a good deal on a high quality bike.

If you’re interested in purchasing an e-bike, which can make it a lot easier to bike longer distances, be sure to check out some reviews on Electric Bike Review, or check out Joel’s very unbiased review of his bike, titled “Why the RadWagon 4 is the Best-Value Cargo Bike on the Planet. Again, e-bikes can be a game changer for novice bikers.

How to incorporate biking into your routine

We don’t expect you to go from commuting 10 hours a week in your car or truck to racing in the Tour de France! It’s okay to just put one foot in front of the other and take some baby steps when you’re just getting started. Here are some tips on how to incorporate biking into your daily routine!

1. Start Slow

Again, you don’t need to go from 0 to 100 to reap the benefits of biking. Start with those small rides, like to your neighbor’s house or your local grocery store. Use these quick trips to build your confidence, and expand from there.

2. Low Pressure Rides

If you’re just getting started on a bike, it may not be the best idea to attempt a morning commute. If you time it poorly, you’ll be super stressed about getting there on time. And it might even turn you off from biking altogether.

Instead, it can be a good idea to give your commute a few “test runs” before you attempt the real deal. Try that route on a Saturday or Sunday when there’s less pressure. Feeling prepared and knowing what to expect will make you all the more confident on two wheels.

3. Upgrade from there

If you’re still not 100% sold on the idea that biking will change your life, but you’d still like to give it a try, consider opting for a cheaper bike option. That way, the stakes are lower, and you can always sell your bike if you feel like it isn’t giving you enough value.

If you try it and love it, then it could make sense to upgrade to an even higher quality bike. Even if you end up purchasing two bikes, you’ll still likely see meaningful savings. And get to enjoy the many lifestyle benefits biking will bring you.

The Bottom Line:

If you’re a long time listener of the podcast, you’ll know that we are cycling advocates to the max. We think everyone should at least try to save money biking to work.

With its long-lasting health benefits and hefty financial advantages, we believe that everyone who has the ability to hop on a bike (traditional or electric) should at least give it a try. The more you choose to travel on two wheels over four, the more savings you will reap. And remember, biking more could mean a significant sum of money back in your life!

We hope we’ve inspired you to drag that old rusty childhood bike out of your garage and take it for a spin (safely!). Be sure to check out these related posts for even more reasons to ditch more car trips for bike rides.

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Beer tasting notes:

While discussing how to save money biking to work we enjoyed a Double Fruited Boysenberry Blackberry Raspberry Hill by Southern Grist! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!

Best friends out!