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My annual "salary"

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My annual "salary"

Old 01-02-08, 10:21 AM
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My annual "salary"

The stats are in for 2007, and so I am able to report my salary for the year as a professional bicycle commuter. I figure I am "professional", as in getting paid rather than doing it for fun, with the "salary" being the savings in gasoline. Based on the 142 days I rode, the mileage of the car I would have driven had I done so, the distance I would have driven (a bit longer than the bike route, but faster because it's on the freeway), and the price of gasoline (which has been $2.79 plus or minus for most of the year), I can report an annual salary of about $198.

The expense report is not ready, and probably never will be, but I think I spent a little more than that on studded tires, an extra rear blinkie, and a couple minor repairs.

A nice thing about statistics is that one can juggle them to justify many things. Since one kid drives now, there were times when no car was available to me. On those days, getting to work was bike or bus (6.3 miles is too much to walk). The round-trip city bus fare to work is $4.00. So based on that, I could claim a salary of 142 days times $4.00 per day, or $568.

You guys who ride ten miles or more to work must be getting rich doing this.

Happy new year to all.
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Old 01-02-08, 10:39 AM
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Rich? This is driving me into the poor house. Technically, it is my spending habits not the commute.
My newest addition for 08 is a new worksheet in my budget spreadsheet for tracking cycling spending.
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Old 01-02-08, 10:56 AM
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My commute being 15 miles one way could get spendy fast gas-wise, especially since the out of commission truck I own gets about 12 miles per gallon. I would probably fill it up every week and a half at $75 a tank. Not driving it at all saves me a little more than $200 a month.

Sad thing is if I chose to drive I wouldn't be able to afford it, and it's not like the savings go into my bike, they go into bills anyways! For me it makes way more sense to bike.

Granted, I could trade for a vehicle with better mpg, but my truck is paid off (though not registered or insured, which is even more savings) and I don't care about having a car. One of these days I'll just sell it and put the earnings into a well diversified portfolio
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Old 01-02-08, 10:57 AM
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Let's see:
Income
$4800 [in lieu of parking]
$1200 [in lieu of additional car insurance]
$600 [in lieu of extra gasoline]
$600 [sold a bike]
$300 [sold a fork]
$600 [sold a bike]
$8100 Subtotal

Expenses
$700 [mtn bike conversion]
$400 [wheelset and tires]
$80 [helmet]
$40 [shorts]
$75 [pogies]
$1295 Subtotal

Net income $6805.00! Unfortunately, I spent most of that on non-commuting bike stuff [new Titus Moto Lite II!] and wine. Parking and insurance estimates are conservative.
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Old 01-02-08, 11:59 AM
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Well, according to that I pocketed a good $340 cash.

But given that I bought some new pedals, helmet, tires, clothing, and the like it just doesn't feel like I'm a paid professional. More importantly, given my commute times I definitely don't feel like a pro!
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Old 01-02-08, 12:09 PM
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I don't bother with things I bought for my ride, because I'd be in the red for sure! But my biking to work has saved me $246.41 this year on gas, or, more importantly, 82 gallons of gas that I didn't have to buy and burn.

(Just for fun I also added it up for a ford expedition (~12 mpg city) and found if I'd owned one of those monstrosities I would have saved $451.75 and 150 gallons of gas)
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Old 01-02-08, 12:09 PM
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Originally Posted by DataJunkie
Rich? This is driving me into the poor house. Technically, it is my spending habits not the commute.
My newest addition for 08 is a new worksheet in my budget spreadsheet for tracking cycling spending.
I did that for the first time last year. It's definitely an eye-opener.
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Old 01-02-08, 12:13 PM
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Unfortunately, I just spent $130 for an organized ride in July.
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Old 01-02-08, 12:30 PM
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16 mile r/t drive
15mpg truck
260 workdays in a year
$3.00 avg gas/gal

4160 miles total /15mpg = 277 gal * $3.00 = $832 in gas
I put it toward my new bike so I'm still in the hole a couple hundred bucks for the year, but I'm healthier than if I drove every day; that's the real beneficial savings... not having to pay $50K for heart surgery 15 years from now.
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Old 01-02-08, 12:30 PM
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I can drive a shorter distance (24 miles/day) than I ride (28 at the lowest). My car gets around 24 mpg, which makes calculations a little easier.

I can't seem to find a good estimate of the average price of gas for 2007. Let's say $2.75. At that rate I'd save $13.75 a week or $715 a year. Not bad, but I must admit that I spent more than that in 2007.

The good news for me is that my wife and I went down to 1 car instead of 2. That was the big money saver for me, especially on insurance. Bikes are a lot cheaper and easier to repair, too, which saves me a lot of stress.
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Old 01-02-08, 12:37 PM
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OK. I did abut 3500 commute miles. My rough math suggests that's maybe $525.00 in gas.
I spent about 25 zillion bucks on cool bike stuff. I'm losing a fortune here.
On the other hand, I didn't buy a power boat or airplane because I'd rather cycle, so perhaps I saved a zillion bucks. I really can't tell.
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Old 01-02-08, 01:03 PM
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Way in the red.
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Old 01-02-08, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by DataJunkie
Rich? This is driving me into the poor house. Technically, it is my spending habits not the commute.
My newest addition for 08 is a new worksheet in my budget spreadsheet for tracking cycling spending.
Don't do it! You'll regret it. And whatever you do, don't let the wife know how much you are spending She'll make you buy a gas guzzling SUV just so that you can break even
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Old 01-02-08, 01:21 PM
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Originally Posted by ghettocruiser
Way in the red.
Me too.

For those of you wishing to "cook the books" for your "income" calculations, you can use 50.5 cents per mile, which is what the US Internal Revenue Service allows you deduct from your gross income for the use of an auto for business.

Even at that rate, my 2,500 miles is just about equal to what I spent on cycling goodies last year. Of course, not much of what I bought was really needed.
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Old 01-02-08, 01:29 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
Don't do it! You'll regret it. And whatever you do, don't let the wife know how much you are spending She'll make you buy a gas guzzling SUV just so that you can break even
LOL

I handle the budget and me alone!
I can think of thirty ways to spin it to my benefit.

It is more for my curiosity. However, it should be less than 07. Unless I purchase three more bikes on top of the three I bought.
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Old 01-02-08, 01:33 PM
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Originally Posted by cyccommute
And whatever you do, don't let the wife know how much you are spending
Just do what I do... tell her that for some strange reason people on Ebay love you and keep sending you free stuff!
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Old 01-02-08, 02:12 PM
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The way I see it, the first year of commuting expenses should be divided by 3 or 4 to represent the number of years it will take to have to replace the stuff you bought. Except for tires and brakes of course. I mean, how often do you really have to replace jerseys, bibs, shoes, pedals, etc.
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Old 01-02-08, 02:24 PM
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Depends on how many times you land on the ground.
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Old 01-02-08, 03:29 PM
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Originally Posted by pinkrobe

Net income $6805.00! Unfortunately, I spent most of that on .......... wine.


I am in the same boat - kicking an expensive habit (cars) frees up the money for other expensive habits: Titus and Booze! yay!
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Old 01-02-08, 03:49 PM
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The IRS who is not known for giving anything away allows $0.485 per mile as an estimated cost of driving write-off. This accounts for fuel, maintanance, and automobile depreciation.

By these estimates, the OP figuring a $198 yearly value of his bicycling would have only bicycled 408 miles last year. I bet that the simple fact he is on BF.N means he does more mileage than that.

I retired my automobile one year and logged 12,000 on my bicycle via work commuting, errands, vacations and other transportation. That had a value of $5,400.

I bet most of the bicycle commuters here on BF.C are saving themselves at least $2,000 to $3,000 yearly even if they are part-time bicycle commuters.
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Old 01-02-08, 04:13 PM
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OK I'll play. Some of us enjoy pain so much that we ride our bikes to work in all conditions, and in our spare time we build income/expense reports. Life is good.

Given that the IRS $48.5 cent/mile cost estimate is high for our one car, I'll consider the $2.75/gal average price suggested above to be a conservative figure, and use our actual budget for the car, assuming that my family would need an additional car if I didn't ride.

2007 INCOME
$106.25 - 850 commuting miles / 22mpg x $2.75/gal
$737.00 - Oregon Average Yearly Insurance Premium
$ 27.00 - Oregon 2-Year Vehicle Registration: $54 / 2
$ 5.00 - Oregon 4-Year Plate Fee: $20 / 4 (for a new Share the Road plate )
$250.00 - Routine Vehicle Maintenance (just enough to cover oil/fluids + brake work OR tires)
TOTAL INCOME: $1125.25

2007 EXPENSES (commuting-related only):
$100 - Studded tires
$150 - New wheels
$125 - NiMH Helmet Light
$ 20 - New Bar Tape
$150 - Energy Bars/Snacks
TOTAL EXPENSE: $545.00

2007 NET INCOME: $580.25


With a new job within the last 2 months, I've gone from a 2mi round trip commute to a 10mi rt commute. I've stuck with it so far, and as a result forcasts project modest gains for 2008.

2008 Budget Estimates:
INCOME
$ 433.75 - 3470 commuting miles / 22mpg x $2.75/gal
$1019.00 - Vehicle fees and other expenses based on 2007 numbers
PROJECTED INCOME: $1452.75

EXPENSES (2008 Estimate) 2007 numbers included several items necessary for increased commute distance. These items are not included in 2008 estimate. Also, I've started making my own natural energy bars from bulk ingredients, for further savings.
$ 75.00 - New tires and brake pads
$100.00 - New Helmet (it's about time)
$ 75.00 - Energy Bars/Snacks
PROJECTED EXPENSES: $250.00

PROJECTED 2008 Net Income: $1202.75 (for a 207.3% increase over 2007!!)

I should sell stock in myself.
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Old 01-02-08, 04:16 PM
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Don't forget to add in wear and tear on the vehicle and maintenance. Especially those driving cars with over 50k miles. That tends to add up as well.

Cheers!
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Old 01-02-08, 04:38 PM
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Riding to work and feeling recharged then hearing co-workers complain about gas prices and traffic jams = PRICELESS!

I need to do more serious calculations this year, but I still feel like a professional...
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Old 01-02-08, 05:06 PM
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I quit tracking the operating expenses since I spend a ton on bike stuff (it's a hobby as well). But at the end of the day I know I'm no longer spending $100/month on a gym and $150/month for insurance, both accruing even when my truck sat in the garage (it was paid for).

The real chunk O' change: I sold my truck for $12k and replaced it with a Cannondale for $1k. No matter how you work the numbers, I haven't spent the remaining $11k.
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Old 01-02-08, 05:13 PM
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My company will charges me $240/year for a parking permit. But, if I do not buy one they pay me $240/year and they give me a free train/ bus pass. So, I guess I am really a pro.
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