My frugalicious act this week was...getting back on my bike.
This was made so much easier by the beautiful spring weather and the new puncture-resistant tires Minou had put on my bike last week (spendy, but we budget $30 for "bike stuff" monthly).
With gas at $4.20 a gallon, I calculate that it costs almost 10 cents a mile to drive or be driven these days. I have a 13 mile round trip commute to one of my health center sites and 15 miles to the other, adding up to a weekly total of 58 miles...or $5.80. It may not sound like much, but with $5.80 I could rent 4 Redbox movies for the family, or almost buy a bottle of wine or pound of good coffee for Minou and myself, or put a tiny drop in the bucket of our mortgage (controversial among frugal folk, I know). If you drive less, you might be able to lower your car insurance rates as well--we did this last year.
Those are just the economic benefits! There's so much more. Health benefits, environmental benefits, and it feels great to have the wind in your hair...(with helmet of course)...
*Late realization: When Minou is transporting me to work and back (so he can use our shared family car), he actually does the trip twice--so double those numbers above, $12 a week or $48 a month.
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