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Everyday
Most decisions are not dramatic. They are repeated journeys, heating settings, meals and replacements. Everyday experiments compare two plausible routines using costs and times you enter, then show the estimated difference — not a verdict about the best life.
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- Train vs driving Your trip costed both ways, in money and in hours, with HMRC's mileage rate or fuel only.
- What if I worked four days a week? Dropping to four days at 7.5 hours a day frees about 46 weekdays a year.
- Petrol vs electric running cost Running costs side by side, using your own mileage and prices.
- What if I walked instead of drove? What swapping short drives for walking does to your costs and your time.
- What if I cooked at home more? Takeaways against home cooking, over a week, a year and longer.
Featured in Everyday
What if I walked instead of drove?
Compare walking a repeated local journey with driving it, using your distance, weekly rhythm and a simplified cost per kilometre.
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10 interactive experiments.
What if I walked instead of drove?
Compare walking a repeated local journey with driving it, using your distance, weekly rhythm and a simplified cost per kilometre.
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What if I stopped using my car?
Add up fuel, insurance, parking, maintenance and extras for a year, then see what remains if you still own the car.
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What if I worked four days a week?
A calendar comparison of two working patterns after holiday weeks — not a claim about pay, rights or productivity.
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What if I worked from home one more day?
Compare the estimated commuting time and day-cost of adding between one and four home-working days each week.
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What if I reduced my home heating?
Apply a reduction you choose to a monthly heating cost and a heating season you choose. Not a universal saving.
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Petrol vs electric running cost
Compare petrol and electricity running costs from mileage, mpg, miles per kWh and unit prices. Purchase stays off unless you add it.
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What if I cooked at home more?
Compare takeaway and home-cooked meal prices for the number of weekly swaps you choose, then let the gap run for years.
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Train vs driving
Put a driving cost per mile, parking and car sharing next to a train ticket and two journey times. Uses October 2026 UK fuel prices and mileage rates.
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What if I replaced an old appliance?
Compare kilowatt-hours, a unit rate and a purchase price over a number of years. Every figure is an estimate.
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What if I bought less and reused more?
A replacement-cycle calculator: item cost, how often you buy now, how often you would buy if you reused more, and years.
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How the everyday comparisons work
Most of these put two routines side by side, like train against car or cooking against ordering in. You type in your own costs, times and how often you do it, and the page shows the difference over a week, a year and longer. The defaults are sensible starting points, but your own figures are what make the answer yours.
Which one to try first
Start with the decision you're actually facing this month. If it's how to get to work, try train vs driving or working from home one more day. If it's the household bills, have a go at the heating or old appliance pages. And if you're simply curious how much a habit adds up to, cooking at home or buying less and reusing more are a good place to begin.
What the comparisons leave out
Here's the catch: they count money and time, and real choices also involve comfort, health, convenience and who else is in the car. So the result shows you what changes, not which life is better. Prices move too, so swap in today's figures if you know them.