How far do you commute to work?

HappyMJ

w00519772 wrote: »

Say I chose to stay were I am. I would of still paid tax and Ni on the savings in my bank. Therefore I dint understand why it is relevant to your calculation. Thanks.

You stay where you are and earn £25,000 per year your take home is £20,167 per year.

You change jobs and earn £27,000 your take home increases to £21,527 per year but your expenses increase by £4,640 per year so you net £16,887 much worse than staying where you are.

To break even you need to earn a gross figure of £6,824 more per year...Total of £31,824 then your take home would be £24,807 less the additional expense of £4,640 per year means your disposable income is £20,167 exactly the same as you have now.

You also need to value your time. I can earn no less than minimum wage sitting at home with my feet up working away on the computer. When you're driving you're not earning anything at all. It's unproductive wasted time.

I didn't used to drive I used to get the train. I could do some work whilst commuting so even though the journey was more expensive than driving my time was spent earning some cash offsetting the additional cost.

Darksparkle

I work about 2 miles away.

In 3-4 years I'll be moving offices to about 9 miles away. On public transport this will still take an hour to an hour and a half depending on where they build the office. I wouldn't go any further than that.

DKLS

Current commute is circa 15 metres, But have done up to 2 hours each way in the past, it was tolerable using plane and train but became very tiresome by car, although improved a bit when I sold the hot hatch and bought a big comfy motorway cruiser with plenty of toys.

Any chance of negotiating the salary upwards?, also do you know the full value of the package so you can make a more informed decision.

agrinnall

It's 6 paces from my bedroom to my home office.

Newdirections

In my previous role, the commute lasted about 1.5 hours each way and it killed me in the end. It was the major reason I left. Although I could read, listen to music etc on the train, I felt I was wasting so much of my life. If I really, really, liked the job, however, I would have probably put up with it.
In other jobs, I've had a 10 minute walk to get to work, and that makes a massive difference IMO.

Malthusian

Is moving closer to the new office out of the question?

TBagpuss

I personally would not do it, unless I was willing and able to move house as well, so that the commumte was only going to be a temporary thing. It isn't just about the cost, although HappyMJ has given you some helpful figures, it'sd also about your time - how long will the new commute take, at the time of day you will have to do it? How tiring will you, personally, find it? Is the extra pay worth the loss of that extra time every day?

It also depends a little on the future prospects. If the new job offers much beter prospects then you may deicde that it is worth short term pain for long term gain.

I currently have a commute which takes between 10 and 15 minutes. I moved hosue about 2 years ago having been commuting 15 miles which took about 40 minutes. Not a long a commute but I found it made a huge difference when it was shortened - I had not appreciated just how much time and energy I would save.

It also depends, I think, on where you ae in your career and how big a finacial difference it would make to you. f you are reasonably comfortable now, then the wuality of life issues may be more importnat to you than if you are barely scraping by.

Are you in a realtionship? Do you you have children? If so, think about the impact that the travel time will have on that. Being 1-2 hours later getting home every day could have a huge effect on how much you get to see your partner and children in the week, not to mention the extra work invovled for your partner if there is an extra 2-4 hours a day when you are not around to do your share of any chores, child care etc.

KiKi

Forget distance - it's the time that matters. I leave my house at 0630, arrive at work at 0800. Leave at 1600 and arrive home at 1740. So nearly 4 hours on a train. However, I get to read, watch TV (both of which I'd do anyway), and I'd get half my salary if I did the job where I live. Plus, I have great career prospects, better pension, free food(!), flexible working etc, so at the moment it's worth it. There will come a point when it isn't worth it, though, and I'll have to make that call to go freelance or look for a very different role nearer home.

w00519772

HappyMJ wrote: »

The way I figure it out is (45 minus 5) times 2 times 5 times 46.4 which equals the additional commuting miles you will be doing in one year. 18,560...then multiply that figure by 25 pence (the running cost of the car including additional maintenance and wear and tear) which gives £4,640 then divide that figure by 0.68 which allows for 20% income tax and 12% national insurance which then gives £6,824. That's the figure you need to earn to break even on the mileage. Then I add the hassle factor which is different for many people. Doing a second morning/evening job paying minimum wage at home with zero additional commuting I could very easily earn £7.20 per hour before tax. An extra 80 miles per day might take me an extra 2 hours (assuming this is clear motorway mileage) so multiplying that out by 5 (days) and 46.4 (weeks) then I'd need to earn an extra £3,340 per year added to the £6,824 makes £10,164.

I would not even consider the job if it didn't pay an additional £10,000 more per year than my existing job.

You say you are on £25,000 and it pays 8% more (the £2,000) to make £27,000. I would be losing money if I took that job. No thanks.

My current salary is: 39K. A season ticket to travel by train is 2200. I can cycle to the local train station and walk from the remote one. I guess by your calculations, I would have to earn 2904 more to break even I.e. (132/100)*2200

HappyMJ

w00519772 wrote: »

My current salary is: 39K. A season ticket to travel by train is 2200. I can cycle to the local train station and walk from the remote one. I guess by your calculations, I would have to earn 2904 more to break even I.e. (132/100)*2200

£3,235 more. You divide the figure £2,200 by 0.68. 0.68 is what is left from £1 after 20% tax and 12% NI has been taken off.