Cost of travelling to work !!! Help!!!

Jonlfc88

It costs me over £500 to get to and from work every month this includes parking petrol and toll road. I'm only earning £1200 a month so that's nearly half my wages. Take off insurance and bills etc I'm left with virtually nothing and I'm seriously in debt a small amount with friends, but after paying them back when I get paid its like a vicious circle.
Is there anything I can do to claim expenses back from HMRC ??

uptomyeyeballs

Are there any alternative ways to get there? If so, could you buy a season ticket? A more economical car perhaps? Effectively you are working for £700 per month. Could you get a wage rise? Little latitude other than those kinds of things.

Jonlfc88

Thanks uptomyeyeballs I pretty much thought that would be the case but was worth a try. It's hard as I enjoy my job and I'm not really in a position to move right now

droopsnoot

If that's the M6 Toll Road you're talking about, isn't that around £4.50 per trip now, so £9/day, or £140 of your £500? Can't you just not use it?

If it's not the M6 Toll, or if there's really no other way (for example, if you work in the Toll Road pay booth) then please ignore me.

googler

Part-time jobs outwith your normal work?

Ilona

Could you find a room to rent for four nights a week, Mon - Thurs, close to where you work? That would cut down the cost and stress of all that travelling. You could go home after work on a Friday, and leave again on a Monday morning and go straight to your workplace. That way you get three nights at home. It would cost less than the £500 you are paying out at the moment.
Ilona

uptomyeyeballs

How far is the journey? Could you car share? What about tele-working? Is it a job where you actually need to be at your place of work? What do you do?

martinthebandit

Cycle? Moped? both would be cheaper on tolls, parking and petrol.

fritteringtwit

Going by your username I'm guessing that its the Mersey tunnel that the toll is for? Have you thought about a tunnel tag? That would cost £1.30 per day instead of £1.60. Where do you work? "Would public transport not be cheaper?

ladylouise62

I'm assuming that it's too far for you to cycle?
Maybe a car share website, To save on parking or perhaps Toll, could you do part by car (if there's somewhere on yor route you could find to park), and get a bike to do the rest (folding bike is necessary). I realise this would involve a big purchase, but you could do it the same month you take some annual leave so won't have to pay the travel costs.

flea72

£500/m equates to around £20-£25day. So what is the breakdown of toll and parking? Or is fuel your main cost?

If it is mersey tunnel, then toll and parking would be no more than £10, so based on that you must be doing serious mileage, or have a gas guzzler. In which case moving nearer to work and getting a house share, would most likely work out cheaper, as you could ditch the car, to save more money