3tyretrackterry said:
now if a computer was invented that told me how much money i was saving i would go for that especially if it had a countdown facility to tell me when ive started saving more than ive spent
I made something like this using a spreadsheet program (I used Google Documents so I could update it at work and at home, but Excel or OpenOffice would work as well).
I made a list of all my "investment" expenses -- things I expect to last, like the bike, lights, cycling clothing.
I made a list of transport savings. This was easy, as I've never owned a car. I found out what an annual season ticket for my journey to work cost, and put that in. Whenever I make a journey by bike that I'd have previously made by train/bus, I put the fare in (unless it would have been covered by the season ticket). The savings add up quickly if I cycle to central London, at £3.20 a time (two tube trips).
I made a list of other expenses. Most of these are journeys that would have come under my season ticket before (e.g. the day I felt ill, so took the train to work).
For 2009, I'm currently £537 in the red, since I bought a new bike. By the end of the year, I should be about £50 in the black. I've spent about £700 on a bike and everything related to it (ouch! Only £400 of that was bike...), so next year I should be ~£750 in credit.
