Flexible Hours/Commute Savings

This post may not be applicable to all of my readers, but if you haven't considered it and it's possible for your situation, you should.

My husband does tech support at a school. During the school year, he obviously needs to be there pretty much whenever students and teachers are. We are fortunate to live in a large metro area with a decent bus system, and he can bus home for only slightly longer than it would take to drive. So, during the school year, he carpools with another person (who does all the driving, which we're grateful for, and doesn't ask for anything back), and if she can't bring him home, he uses the bus. Occasionally he drives, if he'll need to run errands, but during last school year, he'd carpool/bus about three times a week, which is about 150 miles. Even with the extra time and bus fare, it works out to at least $50/week that we save.

During the summer, he still has to go in, and he doesn't have a carpool option. He could bus home, but there's no good option to bus there (goofy bus schedules). So, instead, he is flexing his hours. He works four 9- or 10-hour days, and times his hours to avoid rush hour when possible (he works about 6-3). This also means that he's not home so late, which makes us feel like we have more time in the evenings to do things done. We're still saving 50 miles a week in driving, he's saving an hour a week in commute time (or more, since he's missing morning rush hour and getting a smaller evening rush hour), and he's doing his part to help the environment by having fewer miles driven each week.

For those of you (or your spouses) who are able to do so, consider flexing your hours and carpooling whenever possible. Also, see if there's a possibility to do some work from home - even one day a week would help save time and money.

In the Twin Cities, check out Rideshare (and try to trip planner to see if a bus works); nationally, try NuRide. If you haven't thought about using the bus and live near a large metro area, try it out! Even if it takes longer, it usually will also get you a little more active (walking to and from bus stops) and gives you more freedom on the commute (read the paper, read magazines, write letters, etc) - so, in essence, you are saving time as well as money and the environment!