How much does your commute cost?

Here's a great website to help you calculate what the true cost of your commute is.  Check out the Commute Cost Calculator at Commutesolutions.com.

You simply input the distance of your commute, your gas mileage, and use their guides to calculate the cost per mile for depreciation, repairs, wear and tear.  It also asks for the monthly cost of your auto insurance.  But I leave that blank.  They also ask for your monthly car payment.  That, too, I left blank.  Even if I took the bus to work everyday, I'm still going to have a car and pay for auto insurance.

So, what was my total cost?

Based on a 40 mile round trip commute, 22 working days per month, 26 miles per gallon, $3.30 per gallon, repairs and such at 8.5 cents per mile, and depreciation at 16 cents per mile, my commute comes out to $327.29 per month.  Yikes!  That's too much.

Here's the little secret.  It's not because of increased gas prices.  I changed my assumptions to $2.00 gas.  My monthly cost drops to $283.29.  Not nearly as much as you would think given the non-stop media coverage of gas prices.

There are a ton of other commute cost calculators if you search google, but I found this one to be the best.  It allowed you to make adjustments for the depreciation, repairs and such, but gave you recommended guidelines based on the type of car you own.  Some of them are regional, and have inputs for tolls and other local costs.

Pretty interesting stuff.  By the way, my Fiancee and I carpooled today!  That saves us about six bucks.

Comments

[Mike]

Wow - this is a very interesting tool! I commute to an office 3 times per week (work at home the other days) to a location that is 150 miles round trip! I was not happy to see the numbers, and I did place my car insurance and car payment within. Gret post.

[mapgirl]

GREAT CALCULATOR! I wouldn't have even bothered with vehicle depreciation. Gas doesn't really change the cost of owning my car. Neither does the insurance.

The thing that cost me most are insurance and tolls. That alone is $100 for 20 days of commuting per month.

[Amanda]

I walk to work, so I guess mine's free! (It also saves me a gym membership!) :)

[lamoneyguy]

You're killing me, Amanda. I can't even begin to tell you how jealous I am. Oh well, I guess we all make our own choices.

[Financial Reflections]

It's a 40 mile commute for me! That's about 300 bucks a month. The car is paid for and isn't going to depreicate much at this point. :-)

What I really lose is time. I'm in my car 3 hours a day. That effectively turns an 8 hour day into an 11 hour day, and is what I really need to look at when computing my hourly wage.

[SMB]

Ugh, a 40-mile commute for me, too. 364.06/month, living in Massachusetts with a paid-for Civic.

Great calculator!

[mapgirl]

I love this post. I keep coming back to it. If a person can't absorb a $50 rise in fuel costs easily from the discrentionary income, that's a huge problem for their overall financial picture. They should have some room in their budget for that. I think these complaints signal that Americans have overextended themselves, live hand to mouth and probably aren't minding their expenses well.

Not to sound like chicken little, but it seems that we're not going to learn as a nation how to save again until another Great Depression hits.

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