Life Talk

Cycling everywhere saved me more money than any budgeting app

Retired early from teaching (long story), so money is tight and I've tried every budgeting app there is. Spreadsheets, envelope systems, all of it. None changed my spending as much as one thing: I sold the car and bike everywhere.

Obviously this is easy to say in the Netherlands, where the country is flat and the bike lanes are better than some roads elsewhere. But it's not just the fuel and insurance. When you're on a bike you don't do the big supermarket haul, you can't carry five impulse items, and you don't drive to the mall 'just to look'.

I know this doesn't work everywhere, hills and heat and bad roads are real. But I'm curious: what's the one lifestyle change that saved you more than any app?