In this post, I would like to talk about why using a bicycle is a minimalist way of living based on my experience.
The reason why using a bicycle is an extremely minimalist way to live
In some countries, bus tickets or train tickets are so expensive that people may hesitate to buy a monthly bus ticket.
In northern Sweden where I live, the bus is the main public transportation, however, the city I am living right now has quite a high price bus ticket.
At the first stage of my life here around January and February, I was really tired because of the culture shock and such so I compensated myself to buy the expensive bus ticket.
Now, after living about 4 months, I bike when there is heavy snow or rain like the local people.
Some people tell me that I can get on the bus during the winter time, but I prefer to be by myself sometimes and the bus ticket is expensive so I want to use that money for other things such as buying more interesting coffee beans.
Me spending a lot of money on coffee is very valuable but spending money on a bus ticket is not something pleasant.
Also Read: The extreme minimalist wardrobe; 1 hoodie, 1 pair of shoes and 1 pair of socks are enough
So as an extreme minimalist, I always want to focus on something that I really put importance on, and spending money on the bus ticket it's not included in that pleasant expense.
Having a bike makes me save some amount of money every month and enables me to do something I want instead.
You spend less money and get a more healthy routine by using a bicycle.
Me working outside after taking 15 min bike ride
The reason why I started using a bike here in Sweden was one of my friends had to leave Sweden and she wanted to give away a lot of things to her friends.
Luckily at the same time, I was looking for a bicycle, so I got it.
I bought mine from my friend for 85 Euro and the bus ticket in Umeå is about 40 Euro per month.
When I knew the fact that she could give away a bicycle to me for only €85, I was pretty much sure that I could get healthy habits and also great transportation that I can use at any time.
If you buy a bicycle from your friend, you may need to fix it a bit if the bike is a little bit old, but even considering the repair fee, it will be much less expense than having an expensive transportation pass.
Calculating the yearly cost is easy to compare the cost between bus/train and bicycle
If you want to save money and also at the same time do some exercise every day, using a bicycle would be an amazing way to do that; even an electronic bike.
Although from time to time you may need to spend some maintenance expenses but good in the long term, you can achieve both to save money and also having an exercise habit.
When you see the price of a bicycle and if you think it's too expensive to invest in, then you want to calculate your yearly cost for transportation as well.
As mentioned earlier, my case was really obvious because if I bike for two months, then I can get the advantage of having and using it.
If the weather is not harsh during the winter, then getting a bike will be an amazing idea from my point of view.
It will save you some money and makes you have exercise habits.