Comparing Costs

Every month I put together an Excel document to tally our spending. Then I divide it in half so that my husband or I can reimburse each other the excess. This means I have an itemised history of our spending.

Today I decided to compare the cost of petrol since getting the bike against the same time period the year before. I was surprised at how the difference wasn’t as great as I expected but then remembered that having a baby in January and Covid restrictions meant we didn’t use the car for quite a few months so I went back another year!

As you can see from my picture above the cost of petrol is practically halved from 2018/2019 to 2020/2021. When you factor in the cost of maintenance for the whole period I’ve had the bike then the cost of the car soars miles above the cost of the bike! I haven’t even factored in the cost of insurance, tax, NCT checks, the vehicle and the bike.

My estimated annual fuel savings for a year based on these facts is as follows; I subtract the difference between the 2018 and 2020 years and get 311.88Euro. I then divide that by 7 (the amount of months above) and multiply by 12 (a year) to get 534.65Euro. So my estimated annual savings is about 535Euro! That’s quite substantial.

Add to that my general fitness has improved and the head space I get daily when cycling to work instead of driving it’s a no brainer of a decision! So get on your bike people, it truly will save you money and clear your head of any cobwebs!