In these tough economic times, many of us are looking for ways to shrink our bills - especially when you're paying the tuition cost of community college on your own. While there are a lot of methods that have been parroted by the so-called "financial experts," we feel that there are a lot of things that they overlook. The put, they don't think outside of the box and they don't have any creative solutions.
Get a Bike!
It might sound strange that this is our number one tip, but it really can save you a lot of money ways that you may not have thought of. Before we get into all these different money-saving techniques, first we need to talk about what type of bike you should buy. Remember, were all about saving money right now, so the last thing you want to go do is go by the exact replica of Lance Armstrong's Tour de France bike. No, instead you need to look for something that is low-priced but also functional. Our best recommendation is to buy a cheap cruiser bike. These are the types that you often see people biking on at the beach or on a college campus.
You can usually pick these up for $100-$200, which is a lot cheaper than the $500-$3000 you might pay for a road bike that is quite frankly overkill for your needs.
Transportation Savings
The most obvious expenses that biking is going to reduce are all expenses associated with travel. Right off the top of our heads we can point directly to the money you will save on gasoline. If you bike to anything within 3 miles of your home, you'll be saving quite a bit of money. You might say, "But that's not very many miles to be saving!" This is true, but people tend to travel to places 1 to 3 miles from their home more often than any other type of commute. At volume, you are saving a lot of money.
Additionally, the stress that you put on your automobile by driving lots of miles is going to be reduced. You won't have to get an oil change as often, you won't have to get your brakes done, and you won't have to do any other routine maintenance that's comes with owning an automobile. Simply by not putting these miles in your car, you'll be saving yourself money and preserving your car for the times when you actually DO need it.
Health Savings
This is a bit of a counterintuitive area that biking will help you save money and. You might be wondering, "How on Earth will simply biking help me save on any expenses associated with my help?" Well, the first and most obvious example would be the fact that you are going to be developing healthier habits and improving your fitness and physique. All of these actions have massive benefits for your life overall, but they also mean that you won't have to visit the doctor as often for illnesses and injuries. Healthier people simply get sick less often. You may even be able to discontinue certain medications that you're taking, as long as you do it at the recommendation of a certified medical practitioner.
We have known people who have picked up a biking habit and have gone on to be cured of their asthma and have lost enough weight to be able to discontinue their medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and other afflictions.
Getting Into The Habit
You won't read any of these benefits unless you actually get into the habit of biking on a regular basis. If you follow our tips for biking to places close to home and making sure to hop on the bike at least five times a week, you're definitely going to see a lot of changes in your lifestyle. Some of these will be physical, some will be mental, and then some will be monetary. It is the monetary ones that we are focused on, but you may find that you get just as much benefit and pleasure out of the physical or mental changes that you'll experience. Biking is a wonderful pastime that has absolutely no downside, so get out there, hop on two wheels, and have fun!
About The Author:
By Sonia Meehan, on behalf of Cruiserbikes. A great source for the best cruiser bike accessories.
