The thousands of pounds you spend on your daily commute could buy you a house in Bali, according to a new calculator.
The Commuter Calculator works out how much time and money you will spend travelling to and from work in your lifetime and rates it from good to terrible.
Ford’s online calculator then tells you how many movies you could have watched during your commute and how big a house you could own in Bali with the money you have spent.
LUCKY LONDONER: The website compares your commute to the European average
Retired geologist Tom Windle, 65, put his 18 years of commuting from Clapham Common to Tottenham Court Road, and later Hangar Lane, to the test.
Mr Windle’s commute was ranked ‘ok’ but still cost him a massive £27,000 in total — enough for a two bedroom flat in Havana, Cuba.
He said: “I wish I’d known before I’d started working, I would have gone straight to Cuba!”
According to research by Nutmeg, the average Londoner spends more than £66,000 on commuting — the value of a three bedroom house in Jamaica.
We decided to put some common commutes to our own test.
If you travel the popular route from Wimbledon to Bank everyday for 45 years you will rack up an impressive £74,000 on your Oyster card — enough to buy 160 acres of land in Montana, USA.
Over the same period, a daily commute from Teddington to Canary Wharf would cost an incredible £158,000 — for that you could purchase a four bedroom semi-detached house in Cheshire.
A recent study by the UK Office of Statistics showed that every minute spent commuting has a negative effect on a person’s anxiety levels, well-being and happiness.
And with the average Londoner commuting for 18 months of their life — that’s a long time to spend stressed.
Further research indicated that Londoners felt commuting to work caused more stressed than going to the dentist.
How much is your commute worth? Try out the Commuter Calculator here and tweet us your results to @SW_Londoner.
Featured image courtesy of Julien REBOULET, with thanks
Image courtesy of Ford’s Commuter Calculator, with thanks
