How can you save money on your weekly train ticket? Do you spend a lot of money on rail travel? Do you find it frustrating that you spend a lot of money every day on travelling by train, as well as the time it takes to complete your commute? How can you save cash on your rail fare? Let's have a look at some of the best ideas!
Go Monthly Or Annually
You might already have a weekly train ticket. This will already be saving you money compared to buying a ticket every day. However you can save even more. If you are commuting to work every day, you know you will need to travel. By investing in a monthly ticket you will save money compared to a weekly train ticket. You can save even further with an annual ticket. This will also give you ultimate travel between home and work meaning that if you need to go in early or on another date, you've got travel covered.
Split Your Tickets
Did you know that you can split your tickets to save money? You don't even have to put that much effort in as there are website which will do the hard stuff for you. This will figure out the best price for you. You might want to travel from point A to point Z but there are possibly other stations in-between. These websites will figure out if it's cheaper to have split tickets for your journey. You'll still sit on the same train but you'll have tickets for point A to point E, point E to point S and then point S to point Z. This can save you some cash.
Advanced Bookings
It's worth knowing that if you are having to do some extra travel, you are better booking it in advance. It's usually the cheapest around 12 weeks before you travel. Obviously this isn't always possible however if you can book advance you'll save some money.
Claim For Delays
How many times have you been waiting for a train only for it to never arrive and then it be cancelled? How many times have you found yourself sat on a train waiting for extra time to get to your destination. Lateness and delays seem to be part and parcel of our rail system but you shouldn't grin and bear it. Fortunately, there is a way to claw some money back if you are delayed. A delay resulting in you getting to your destination between 30 and 60 minutes late will mean you can claim a 50% refund. If you arrive over an hour late, that's a full refund! How much money have you missed out on by not delaying for late trains?
Change Your Hours
Are you able to change your working hours to make your weekly train ticket even cheaper? Travelling at peak times is usual for commuters. If you can travel outside of those hours, you're likely to save money! Making your first journey after 10am and your return journey after 8pm will be seen as off peak. You'll be surprised at how much cash you can save!
Work From Home
Lots of us have been working from home. Even when staff begin to return to the skyscrapers and office blocks, are you able to agree to work from home? Maybe you can do it for just a couple of day a week. Not only will it save you money on travel, it will save you time. You'll be able to take the kids to school before you begin work for the day and maybe even collect them too! Get your hours in during those working from home days and use the time you would be commuting to and from the office for exercise, DIY jobs or family time!
Move House
Have you asked yourself why you're commuting one hour, two hours or maybe over three hours a day? When the day is only 24 hours long, the commute eats a huge chunk into your time. Could you move closer to the office? Even a couple of train stops will help you save money on your weekly train ticket. Moving closer might even mean you can walk or cycle to work, saving you plenty of cash! If you can't move house, could you look for a job that is closer to home instead?
Ask For Help
If you are struggling to make ends meet and your weekly train ticket is taking up a large amount of your salary, can you ask for help? Your business might be able to help with the price of your commute, or advance you the cost of an annual train ticket which then comes out of your monthly pay cheque. If the annual ticket price is £1000 and the weekly price is £40, you'll save over £1000 a year. Your company will likely take the £84 out of your pay cheque each month to cover your annual ticket.
Are any of these ways to save money on your weekly train ticket going to work for you? Whether you start working from home or can ask your boss for some help towards your travel, find something that will help save some cash. Travel can cost a lot so every little saving helps.
