This post is dedicated to some of my most frugal possessions ever:
Yeah, my legs and feet (and may be the 4 year old jeans, but not the shoes… they could have been more frugal).
After a short stint with using a motorcycle, I returned back to my old means of transportation for going to school (and work): walking. I have a car (a junker), but I don’t drive it to school. Before I had the motorcycle, I used to walk about 25 minutes one way; however, soon after I sold it, we moved to an apartment closer to school and the walking time was reduced to about 10 minutes one way. With walking came a lot of benefits: direct economic benefits and some intangible (but sometimes perceived) benefits. I will list some of them below. Also, in the spirit of “how to make $1 million from $1″ type of statements (you will read this on a lot of personal finance blogs….at unfortunate times, even on this blog) , I will throw some outrageous numbers at you. 
Walking saves me time
First, let me explain the main reason why I walk. The image below will describe the geography of my parking situation. It takes me on an average 10 mins to walk to school (at my normal pace). If I drive, I have to park in a “student lot” which is about a 7 minute walk from my workplace; plus the driving time of about 5 mins. Obviously driving to school is not faster for me.
Moreover, there is no “downtime” when I walk. Whether it’s raining, or cold, or hot…I just have to get out of the house with appropriate accessories (for example an umbrella, or a jacket) and start walking. Driving usually involves some kind of a downtime. When it’s hot you need to roll the windows down and remove the hot air inside. When it’s cold you need to warm the engine up a little bit. When it’s raining, and you carry an umbrella to your car, it’s a bit of a struggle to fold the dripping thing and keep it inside; and then another struggle to take it out again without getting wet.
Walking is frugal
On an average day, I walk 10 mins to school, walk back home for lunch, then walk back to school, and then walk back home after finishing my classes/work. That’s about 40 minutes of walking everyday. On bad weather days and extremely busy days I skip my lunch..so that’s just 20 minutes of walking. The walking story is going on for about 3 years now. Here are some numbers based on these facts.
- Average walking speed: 3 miles per hour
- Distance walked per average day in 40 minutes: 2 miles
- Distance walked per bad weather/busy day: 1 mile
- Assume number of working days per year: 200 (160 average days and 40 bad weather/busy days)
- Total distance walked in a year: 160 x 2 + 40 x 1 = 360 miles
- Amount of gasoline required for a 20 mpg car to go 360 miles: 18 gallons
- Cost of 18 gallons of gasoline ($2/gallon): $36 (However, according to this website, the *true cost* of driving 2 miles a day turns out to be around $96. Plug in some numbers and check out how much it’s costing you to drive to work)
- Cost of parking permit per year: $240
- Cost of not finding a parking spot when you are late for class or the cost of getting a ticket for violating a stop sign while hurrying or the cost of getting in an accident on the day of your final exam: Priceless stress
- Total per year: $276 + Priceless stress
- Total savings in the last 3 years: $828 + 3 x (Priceless stress)
- If I invest this amount for the next 30 years (without making any additional deposits) at 10% rate of return, it would yield: $14,448.11
- Cost of maintaining legs and feet: $0 (Of course, you buy shoes..but you would have bought them anyways)
Walking is healthy
I usually hit the gym whenever I get a chance (because I pay $294 a year to my school for the facility). However, there are stressful stretches (sometimes extending over a few months) during which I just don’t have the time. Walking to school is the only source of physical activity during those spans. Also, I gained about 10 pounds in the year I was riding the motorcycle to school; however, since I started walking, my weight has been effectively constant (there were variations, but none were significant enough to be called *weight gain*).
Walking is a zero cost exercise. Studies have shown that, on an average, a person walking at 3 mph burns about 4 calories per minute (I am sure you burn more with a heavy backpack on your back). Of course, it’s not supposed to replace your rigorous exercise regime, but if you are not doing any exercise at all, some amount of walking everyday might be of help. Here are some more health benefits of walking (source):
“Fit walkers are less likely to fall and suffer injuries such as hip fractures because the bones are strengthened; less likely to sustain injury because joints have a better range of movement and muscles are more flexible; less prone to depression and anxiety; tend to be good sleepers; and are better able to control body weight.”
You cannot put a cost to all these health benefits, but if regular walking reduces the likelihood of bone injuries, it can potentially translate into a lot of savings in medical costs in years to come.
Other underestimated but valuable benefits of walking
Some people won’t agree with this, but short-distance driving in crowded places is stressful. Your mind stays constantly occupied with worry during these drives. You have to watch for errant vehicles all around you and also for kids whizzing across the road on skateboards and bicycles (if you live near a school with 35,000+ students, you will know what I am talking about). Walking, on the other hand, is stress-releasing…you must have noticed how most people (even animals do it) start pacing up and down when they are under stress…it’s our body’s natural response to stress.
Plus, walking also presents you with some lone time for quality thinking. Some of my best research ideas have struck me when I was walking to school after a hearty lunch…and some of my better blogging ideas have started during my walk to home after the day’s work. I don’t think the value of these ideas can be matched by any dollar amount.
Walking is all about being green
Obviously, less driving means less pollution and a potentially cleaner environment. According to this website, my 2 mile daily commute would produce 0.0154 pounds of Hydrocarbons, 0.11 pounds of Carbon Monoxide, 0.007 pounds of Nitrogen Oxides, and 2 pounds of Carbon Dioxide per day. Do check out how much pollution your daily commute is causing.
I wanted to write some more stuff but the length of this article is getting out of control; so I will pull the plug here. Please feel free to share your thoughts on the pros (or cons) of walking to workplace.
Additional Reading: The Numerous Benefits of Walking; Health Benefits from Walking
Hip fracture image credit: Booyabazooka
{ 8 trackbacks }
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
One more reason to walk - it may help increase your concentration and recall, ie, your learning abilities!
Wordpress ate the link in my previous comment
So here we go again,
http://oedb.org/library/college-basics/hacking-knowledge
I take the bus to work and walk home. Sometimes I walk to work but it is up a steep hill. I don’t own a car but Snork Maiden does.
Good post! When I was in college, I walked all the time. I didn’t mind that it took 20-30min from my apartment to class. All I needed was my mp3 player and I was set.
I walk everywhere, too. i.e. to work, school, grocery shopping…basically anything and everything I need is within walking distance. Yes, walking is great to the environment and stress-free!
I listen to language lessons (the Michel Thomas ones are the best) on my Ipod while walking to work (1 hour a day). I have learnt Spanish in the last two years and plan to start Italian next year.
Ispf: Thanks for the link. I should probably reader it soon; I have been acting very dense for the last few days.
Moom: Steep hill walking is an awesome exercise. Btw, does walking steep downhill cause any knee pain to you? I have heard it’s always better when going uphill; I will check it out from somewhere.
Savy Steward, Goldnsilver and Valerie: Nice, you guys are making the most of your walking time (and your mp3 player and ipod). Learning a new language while walking to work sounds interesting….I will probably try it sometime. Thanks.
And I thought I was the only one. I love walking home in the rain, wierd but refreshing.
Love to walk…one of the best things in Japan is I can walk a lot more. Back in the US I found walking in the suburbs dangerous (because nobody does, cars don’t look out for you). The only downside is my wife hates that I always pick the farhtest parking spot
I live 15 mins away from work and it’s amazing how good it feels in the morning. It’s quite refreshing in SF especially to walk and it puts me in a good mood.
Walking to work is easier than walking home where I have to climb up a very steep hill or about three flights of stairs! But definitely good exercise either way.
Saving advice: The farthest parking spot story is all too familiar for me.
sfordinarygirl: I envy you. Here, in summer it’s too hot and winter it’s too cold for quite a while….but I walk anyways.
—deleted—-
I too work on a 35000+ university campus. I’ve never paid for a parking permit .I’ve been walking to work (30min each way) for 20 years. Rain or shine. And I have a considerable hill between me and the campus.
Every time I hear about the French paradox and their wonderful diet, I have to say that the really big difference between americans and the french is that the french walk, everywhere, all the time. Americans drive.
I wish there were some numbers on your chance of getting hit by a car while walking verses driving. With so many drivers not paying any attention to the road, I have had some close calls while walking recently, and I’ve gotten to the point I’d like a half-ton of steel between me and them.
What if you want to walk but cannot walk to work? I also stumbled onto something that makes me healthier in my office. It is a treadmill desk. I walk all day at work and no I do not sweat! I do burn about 900-1200 calories a day though and it keeps me from every feeling sleeply. I made my own but have found a product called TrekDesk which seems to be the most affordable option out there. You can read about it at http://www.trekdesk.com.
Leave a Comment