Commute costs: how much does it cost you to get to work every month?

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annetheman
annetheman Posts: 856 Forumite
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edited 20 November 2019 at 1:03PM in Employment, jobseeking & training
I'd be really interested to find out how much your commute to work costs - can you estimate the amount per month?

I'm looking at around £400 per month if I go into the office every day or £160 if I work from home 3 days a week, and I thought this was pretty high but I suspect it's somewhat normal for commuters in the South East of England who work in London?

I feel like work commute costs are usually not something people take notice of, probably because it is an unavoidable necessity for most so just accepted as a fixed cost in life - certainly when I drove to work, I didn't really think about how much fuel I spent per month.

Thanks for your answers! :j
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How much (£) per month do you spend on your work commute? 181 votes

£0-100
58%
Savvy_SuephillduttonIntoodeepffacoffipawbPennywiseSuiDreamsmrsplinterMoaningMyrtleDoom_and_GloomPinkGirlsammyjammyjinkssickPeter999_2pknottmjackieblackdevildollyMothballsWalletTigsterooniecalmacuksharp910sh 105 votes
£100-200
22%
bairn7nick74Marvel1crispy_chrisjet9catDonnySaverAmaraJLS1901Mrs_RyanSoot2006bagginslovergettingreadychelldaviesjenwiganmirkoGetRealBabeehlostarrybeebanana2george4064 40 votes
£200-£300
13%
loobs40bargainbettydebsy42[Deleted User]marlasingerslowcoachmebownyboyDCFC79ConsumerMattTrickyDicky101happy_2008paddyzunforeseenSky_bamgbostTabby_catpaddyandstumpyMr_SingletonctbfcOhfeelya 25 votes
£400+
6%
motorguycaroline341245thebigstillmeisterisplummmrchinchin25janeseemoreluckboxceredigionBrassicWomanptork66Paully28 11 votes
«134567

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  • Johnmcl7
    Johnmcl7 Posts: 2,817 Forumite
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    £0-100
    Lucky to say commuting costs nothing as it's a short walk.
  • sharp910sh
    sharp910sh Posts: 523 Forumite
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    £0-100
    zero i just walk
  • Brynsam
    Brynsam Posts: 3,643 Forumite
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    annetheman wrote: »

    I feel like work commute costs are usually not something people take notice of, probably because it is an unavoidable necessity for most so just accepted as a fixed cost in life - .

    Do you? I think you'll find commuting costs (certainly in London and the south east) are very much something people take notice of, especially if they need to use public transport. Estate agents certainly hammer home the point where commuting costs are 'reasonable', as do papers like Metro and the London Evening Standard, who regularly have features on the best places to commute from, including the cost of doing so.
  • unforeseen
    unforeseen Posts: 7,283 Forumite
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    £200-£300
    £50 per week on fuel plus £18 on tolls.
  • paddyandstumpy
    paddyandstumpy Posts: 1,486 Forumite
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    £200-£300
    Circa 18,000 miles a year (mainly motorway speed) driving commute:

    1. £200 a month on diesel
    2. Service every 9 months ~£150 a time
    3. Multiple tyres due to potholes (poor state of roads) ~£55 a corner
    4. Bulbs tend to last circa 10k miles ~£25 a pair, a time
    5. Insurance is quite high due to mileage ~ 30% load (estimated)
    6. Depreciation on a car, doing heavy mileage (bought a 48k mileage 7 year old diesel manual for £5.3k, now worth barely £2k on 97k miles)

    Just waiting for the clutch to go (regret not buying an auto!) and need a new cambelt next summer.
  • nicechap
    nicechap Posts: 2,852 Forumite
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    annetheman wrote: »
    I'd be really interested to find out how much your commute to work costs - can you estimate the amount per month?

    I'm looking at around £400 per month if I go into the office every day or £160 if I work from home 3 days a week, and I thought this was pretty high but I suspect it's somewhat normal for commuters in the South East of England who work in London?

    I feel like work commute costs are usually not something people take notice of, probably because it is an unavoidable necessity for most so just accepted as a fixed cost in life - certainly when I drove to work, I didn't really think about how much fuel I spent per month.

    Thanks for your answers! :j

    That sounds very cheap for daily flights to San Francisco.

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  • Trina90
    Trina90 Posts: 541 Forumite
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    £100-200
    £150 a month on petrol, bearing in mind that is also my husband's commute (we're colleagues) it's pretty good. We also have to drive back to work a lot for overtime in the week and at the weekend.
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  • jackieblack
    jackieblack Posts: 10,317 Forumite
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    £0-100
    Johnmcl7 wrote: »
    Lucky to say commuting costs nothing as it's a short walk.
    sharp910sh wrote: »
    zero i just walk

    Ditto :) Message too short
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  • ConsumerMatt
    ConsumerMatt Posts: 56 Forumite
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    edited 16 November 2019 at 12:53PM
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    £200-£300
    I pay around £220 per month for train & tube. I live in the South East but I'm in the sweet spot of being far enough from London for property within my means but close enough for pay as you go Oyster. Plus there's working from home and as I often work 0800-1600, if I get out a few mins early I can sometimes tap in just before peak fares begin!

    "I feel like work commute costs are usually not something people take notice of". I completely agree with this with regards to the bulk of full time train commuters. Exactly as you said - unavoidable and non-negotiable so I ignore it for my own sanity.

    Saying that, people often behave as if the £5,000+ annual season ticket folk are somehow crazy. On the contrary, in a purely financial sense (disregarding travel time and quality of home life) this will remain the smart choice as long as the London and home counties wage disparity remains so significant. My commute costs could quadruple and I'd still be far better off financially working in London compared to locally. I suspect the train companies know this.
  • 74jax
    74jax Posts: 7,923 Forumite
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    annetheman wrote: »
    I feel like work commute costs are usually not something people take notice of, probably because it is an unavoidable necessity for most so just accepted as a fixed cost in life - certainly when I drove to work, I didn't really think about how much fuel I spent per month.

    Thanks for your answers! :j

    It's a big consideration for me. And affects where I apply for jobs etc too.
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