Hacks to cut the cost of your back-to-work commute

Bag a new bike 

Commuting on two wheels? Ask if your employer offers some form of bike to work scheme as an employee benefit. 

This allows you to save between 25% and 39% on a new bike and accessories, because the payments are taken directly from your salary before income tax and National Insurance are calculated. 

Claim money towards childcare 

Snap up free money from the Government towards childcare for children aged 11 and under. 

You can claim up to £500 every three months (up to £2,000 a year) per child, rising to £1,000 every three months (and up to £4,000 a year) if your child is disabled. 

You’ll need to set up an  online childcare account. Then for every £8 you pay into this account, the government will add another £2. 
 
The money can be used to pay for ‘approved childcare’, where providers are signed up to the schemes. This can include childminders, nurseries and nannies, as well as after-school clubs and play schemes that are life savers in school holidays. 

To qualify, you need to earn at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week on average, while you and your partner both need to earn less than £100,000 a year in ‘adjusted net income’. 

Save on work clothes 

Sadly, pyjamas and slippers are unlikely to cut it back in the office, however comfortable while working from home. 

First, review your wardrobe to see if you actually need any new clothes, or can wear what you already own. 

Dry cleaning and mending can work wonders. 

If you need to fill gaps, check out supermarkets for basics or consider second-hand options and do your bit for the environment at the same time. 

Charity shops can be great sources of smart suits, shirts, dresses and coats, especially if you scope out branches in richer areas, or try sites such as eBay, Depop and Vinted. 

Save when shopping for new clothes online by nabbing discounts: click through from a cashback site, google 'voucher codes' and see if you can get money off by signing up to company newsletters. 

When shopping on a site where you're registered, try loading up your online shopping basket, then leaving without buying anything, to see if the retailer will send a code a few days later to tempt you back. 

Nab tax relief on uniforms 

If you wear a uniform for work, and you have to wash, repair or replace it, make sure you claim tax relief. 

The standard flat-rate allowance for uniform maintenance is £60, so the tax relief works out as £12 for basic rate taxpayers or £24 if you pay higher rate tax. 

Plus, you can backdate your claim for up to the previous four years. 

Some specific occupations such as pilots, mechanics and ambulance staff have higher allowances – check out the full list. 

Pay less for lunches 

The extra cost of nipping out of work to grab a sandwich has been nicknamed the ‘Prêt tax’.

Time to crack open the Tupperware.

Making your own packed lunches could easily save £1,000 a year, whether you slap together your own sandwiches or batch cook big dinners and then take leftovers into the office.

With Compare the Market, you can also side-step the expense of takeaway coffee on the way to work, with 25% off handcrafted coffee and freshly baked pastries, 7 days a week only at Caffè Nero. Using your Meerkat app, you can save on all barista-made drinks not once but twice a day.

To claim this reward, you’ll need to take out a qualifying product via Compare the Market. Terms and conditions apply.

3 things to do right now...

Check out cheaper ways to get to work, whether you change your route to use less fuel, compare the cost of train tickets or use a cycle to work scheme to bag money off a bike. 

Don’t knock second-hand to cut the cost of work clothes and claim tax relief if you’re required to wear a uniform. 

Plan for packed lunches, to avoid the extra expense of buying sandwiches or eating out