Can Waking Up Early Save You Money?

How starting your day ahead of the crowds can benefit your bank balance.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts on The Morning Edge, then you’ll know I’m on a mission to help you make the very best of your mornings.

One of the ways I’ve chosen to do this, is by keep highlighting the many benefits of waking up early.

Including for your bank balance…

Save money on commuting by waking up early

If you wake up early (7am or earlier) and get ahead of the rush hour, you’ll definitely make some cash savings.

The benefits may seem small, but they become significant when you calculate them over months or years.

In other words, think long term.

Save on motoring costs

If you drive to work, getting up early and starting your commute early offers several opportunities for cash savings:

• Save money on fuel — By avoiding the rush hour you’ll be able to have a quicker and smoother trip to work. This will save you fuel. Which, in turn, will save you money.

• Save money on parking — I’ve worked in many offices where free parking was limited. Only the early starters were able to take advantage of it. Everyone else had to pay to park in nearby car parks. So wake up early and grab the free parking!

• Save on EV charging costs — An increasing amount of offices now offer free EV charging for their staff. One problem: There are typically not enough charging posts for everyone who wants to use one. However, if you get to work early, you’ll be able to take advantage of the free EV charging and save yourself time, hassle and money.

Other ways you can save money by commuting early

• Save money by walking to work — If you live reasonably close to your office then you may have considered walking to work but were put off by the heavy traffic noise and air pollution. However, if you make an early start, you can get ahead of the worst of this, and save yourself money while also enjoying an invigorating morning walk before settling down at your desk.

• Save money by cycling to work — If you live a few miles from your office, then walking might not be an option. However, cycling could be just the ticket. Especially if you get ahead of the busy rush-hour traffic. Cycling instead of driving is not just greener — it’s also substantially cheaper.

• Save money by getting a seat on public transport — If you’ve ever had to regularly commute to work by train or bus, you’ll no doubt have experienced the horror of having to stand first thing in a morning. I recall doing this in London for several years. Not only was I too tall (I’m 6ft 9”) to stand up straight on the tube trains, but it felt like torture having to stand up in an airless carriage for an hour every morning. Fortunately, you can avoid this hardship by commuting earlier than the pack. How does this save you money? Well, you’ll feel less in need of food and drink for one. Plus, if you get a seat, you can plan your day ahead, which will save you time. And, as we all know…. time is money!

Let’s turn now to some other money-saving tips and ideas that you can use any day of the week.

Everyday cash savings from waking up early

Years of getting up early has taught me that — even on weekends — there are financial benefits to be gained for early birds.

These include the following ways to save money:

• Save cash on breakfast — Lots of coffee shops encourage early customers by offering deals on breakfast. Look for coffee + pastry, or even coffee + hot breakfast. And if coffee shops aren’t your thing, there are similar breakfast deals to be had at most fast food outlets, including McDonald’s, Subway and Tim Hortons.

• Save cash on heating or aircon — With energy costs so high at the moment, you can save cash by turning down or even turning off your heating or aircon at home. Instead, head to your local café and shops and take advantage of their climate control. (This cash-saving tip works in the afternoons too.)

• Save cash on parking — This is similar to the benefit listed above in the commuting section. Essentially, it means if you arrive early in a morning to cafes and shopping centres, you’ll be able to take advantage of the closest and cheapest parking spaces. It’s often the difference between parking for free on site, or having to park some distance away and paying a premium price per hour.

Start waking up early, and start saving money

I hope this post has given you an insight into how waking up early (perhaps just one hour earlier than you normally do) can save you valuable time, stress and money.

In tough economic times, we need to do all we can to keep ourselves financially afloat.

While waking up early and starting your day early isn’t going to be a cure-all for your bank balance — it’s definitely something that can help.

And of course, early rising offers many other benefits beyond saving cash. These include, boosting your physical and mental health, and supercharging your productivity.

Happy early mornings!