Getting to work every day may be a chore, but it needn't cost you the earth. Here's our guide to slashing how much you spend on your commute.
I'm not having much luck with my journeys into work this year.
First there was The Snow. I live out in leafy Hertfordshire, with a fair chunk of my daily journey taken up by an overground train into London. Once the first snowflake landed on the track, my journey was doomed.
Then came The Tube Strike.
This time the overground train was a bastion of reliability, as I instead grappled with overcrowded buses and my hopeless knowledge of the geography of London.
And finally, last week, I was hit with a strike by National Express East Anglia, which meant I had to rope my other half into getting up at 6.30am on her day off in order to drive me to a station miles away from our home, just so I could start my journey to work on time.
But while it was a pain, it also opened up my eyes to a cheaper route!
Every cloud, it seems, really does have a silver lining....
Nearest isn't always cheapest
I was taken aback when ordering my ticket into London from this new station, as it works out a fair bit cheaper than my old route.
My monthly ticket into London sets me back £138.30, at which point I start using my Oyster card.
But this new route would cost me £4 less a month! I'd also be saving money if I went with this journey on an annual ticket - the new route would be £1,400, compared to £1,440.
Moral of the story? If you take the train into work every day, and have a choice of stations, make sure you know which one will cost you the least!
Season tickets will save you a packet
It really does pay to buy a long term ticket.
If I buy a weekly ticket, it sets me back £36. Over the course of a year, assuming I have three weeks when I don't buy a ticket thanks to holidays, that's £1,764.
As I have already mentioned, a monthly ticket costs £138.30 each month, which comes to £1,660 over a year, while a season ticket will set me back £1,440.
That's over £300 difference from buying a weekly ticket every seven days!
Of course, £1,440 is a large amount to shell out all at once. The good news is, your employer may offer a season ticket loan, which is usually interest-free. If it's not, buy it with a 0% on purchases card instead and spread your payments into affordable interest-free chunks over several months.
If you can afford to pay for it all at once, use a cashback card. The market-leading American Express cashback card offers up to 5% cashback in the first three months (up to £100 maximum cashback). So if I applied for this card, I would make £72 immediately, just by handing it over at the till. That would give me a total saving of £372, compared to paying weekly for my ticket with cash.
Just be sure to double-check your local train station will allow you to pay with American Express before you apply for the card, as unfortunately it isn't accepted everywhere.
Car sharing
If you currently drive to work, then one possible way to save money is to join a car sharing scheme.
The schemes work on a pretty simple principle - two or more people sharing a car for a journey, instead of each driving alone.
You can find an index of the various schemes operating across the UK at Carshare.com, while liftshare.com and Nationalcarshare.co.uk are also worth a look for further information on how to sign up, and what to expect from the various schemes.
Some employers even operate their own networks of car sharing, though you don't have to go down the official route - if you live near a work colleague, why not propose your own car share initiative, alternating the days you each take the wheel? This should dramatically cut your petrol costs.
Car clubs
If you only need a car ocassionally for work purposes, but still want to save a few pennies, have a look at joining a car club.
You book the use of the car ahead of time, for anything from an hour to a couple of days, and pick up the car from a parking bay near you, for a couple of pounds an hour.
You'll need to return it to the same bay, however, and will pay for each hour until you do. So it's not a solution for regular car commuters - but if you only need a car for work on the odd occasion (or emergency strike), then it may work out cheaper for you than maintaining your own vehicle.
Carclubs.org.uk reckon that drivers who do less than 6,000 miles a year could save around £3,500 each year by joining a car club instead of maintaining their own car. The site also offers links to a host of car clubs across the UK.
Get the exercise!
So long as you don't live really far away from your workplace, you could alter your commute to not only save money, but also get in shape!
Why not try walking or cycling to work? Yes, occasionally you might get a bit wet, but just think of the pounds you'll save - and the pounds you'll lose!
The Government has been running its Cycle to Work initiative for a fair while now, which allows employers to loan their staff bikes and cycling safety equipment as a tax-free benefit.
So if your employer offers the scheme, take advantage! It could save you a small fortune in train fares! And if they don't have a scheme, ask them to start one up.
If you live in London, you can download maps of safe cycle routes via the Transport for London journey planner. (Under 'advanced options' un-tick every option except 'Cycle'.) There is similar help available in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Cambridge and Leeds. Indeed, most local council websites seem to have a cycling section. Just google 'cycling' and the name of your town to see what's on offer.
Finally, there's nothing wrong with good old-fashioned walking. Or rather running, in the case of my friends who are marathon junkies. They have taken to running the ten miles home from work at the end of each day, as it saves them having to do the exercise once they get home. Now personally, I couldn't think of anything worse, but if that sounds like heaven to you, why not give it a try?
Enjoy your commute!
OK, so maybe it's a bit optimistic to suggest that you will be able to enjoy your commute if you cut the cost of it. But you'll certainly enjoy having the extra cash in your pocket. And that's got to put a smile on your face... even at 6.30am!
More: Seven ways to save money in your lunch hour! | Seven top financial tips for home-workers