Save Money by Walking 

10 reasons why you should walk instead of drive

 

Everybody knows why walking is better for you than driving, but sometimes people have a way of ignoring what’s good for them.

So, let’s remind ourselves of why we should be walking – and how to enjoy it more.

 

10 REASONS FOR WALKING INSTEAD OF DRIVING

 

1. It saves money on petrol. Lots of it.

 

2. It saves the planet. You’d be doing your bit to save the world.

 

3. It saves on parking. Don’t you just hate having to pay for parking?

 

4. It’s free. The pleasure of knowing you are getting something for nothing while other people have to pay is not the same as benefiting from saving money. It’s even better.

 

5. It’s good exercise. The benefits are obvious. Ask your doctor.

 

6. You’ll get more fresh air. It’s the best kind.

 

7. It might even be quicker than driving. People often underestimate the time they spend driving, thinking a 10-minute journey may only take two minutes. And they often don’t take into account the unavoidable extra time involved, either, when calculating journey times. Add up the time you spend looking for your keys, filling up with petrol, defrosting the car, walking from the car park, etc, and compare it with a simple walk from A to B. And even if it still takes longer to walk, remember that only the extra time spent walking is the issue, not the total time of the walk. It may only be costing you a few minutes extra per day to walk instead of drive.

 

8. If it takes longer to work after all, what the heck? You’re walking to work, so what’s the rush?

 

9. Walking improves your image. Have you noticed that everybody in the office admires the person who has the motivation to walk instead of drive? In a word, walking is cool.

 

10. Walking is fun - and here are some tips for making it even better…

 

17 WAYS TO MAKE WALKING EVEN BETTER

 

1. Remember that you don’t have to walk every day. Try walking and driving on alternate days - but don’t be surprised if you find the advantages are great enough or you are enjoying it so much that you want to do it more regularly.

 

2. Vary your route. Making the walk more interesting makes it seem shorter.

 

3. If you can’t vary your route, vary your entertainment. Get an iPod. It makes walking even more of a pleasure - and you don’t have to be listening to music all the time. Download podcasts of your favourite radio programmes, or invest some of the money you have saved by buying yourself some talking books.

 

4. See your walk as quality time or escapism, and enjoy the fact that you aren’t subjected to road rage, boy racers cutting you up, feeling guilty about not getting enough exercise, and helping to ruin the environment. Press the button on that crossing and make the suckers wait!

 

5. Think. See your walk to work as a chance to give some serious thought to work matters. You’ll be amazed how much better you can think with the clear head you get from breathing fresh air. You may even be able to use the time to make necessary phone calls. Save the walk home for thinking about other aspects of your life and making decisions.

 

6. Talk to people. You never get a chance to say ‘Good morning’ to fellow drivers, but fellow walkers appreciate it - and so will you. After all, you’re in this together! And you’ll get to speak to the neighbours properly too.

7. Sing or hum to yourself. Choosing songs with a fast tempo will make you walk faster, therefore increasing the benefit of the exercise and getting you there even quicker. Don’t do it too loudly, though.

8. Set yourself ‘no-go’ areas for driving. Get a map and mark a circle at least a mile around home - and challenge yourself never to drive to any destinations inside the circle.

9. Keep your eyes open. At walking pace you have more time to notice and enjoy what’s around you. Stop to smell the flowers!

10. Treat yourself to some comfortable shoes. Now you can afford them and your feet deserve them!

11. Remember: it’s free. You’re getting something for nothing, and doesn’t that make you feel good?

12. Walk because you can. Some people’s motivation for walking is having friends and relations who are unable to walk - because of illlness, infirmity, accident or age. Keep in mind somebody you know who would love to be able to walk too. Make hay while the sun shines and think yourself lucky.

13. Enjoy the cold. No, really - there is something strangely gratifying about wrapping up warm against the cold and beating the winter. And the more you are out, the less likely you are to get a cold.

14. Try walking with somebody else - especially close friends and relatives. It’s a great way to spend quality time with them without irritating distractions.

15. Feel the rhythm! Dancers and musicians often walk because they say it helps their sense of rhythm. As one dancer put it: “Walking is the metronone of my life.”

16. Take a shorter lunch break. You’ve already had your ration of fresh air, so you don’t need so much time to recoup in the middle of the day. You may end up getting home earlier than if you had driven.

17. Don’t feel guilty about driving once in a while. If the weather’s especially bad or you really aren’t in the mood, you’ve every right to take the driving option - as long as you don’t fall back into bad habits.