Thursday Trim the Trash Time: June 1, 2017
Sick Whip Bro……
Welcome to the month of June friends and welcome back to “Thursday Trim the Trash Time,” my weekly post about what you can eliminate from your budget. Today’s victim is a fun one. In my opinion, there is no bigger waste of money out there than cars. People literally spend themselves poor from cars. That to me is just straight stupid. In this post, I am going to go over the reasons why people own cars and what they could be doing instead to save money.
1) You have to Commute to work
Okay, so this is one of the more legitimate reasons to own a car. My parents, for instance, drive about 45 minutes to work every day. They chose to live in the country and drive to the city every day for work. They moved out to the country when I was 13 and when they could afford it. Before that, they had only a 10-15 minute drive to work. The key is that they could afford the house in the country and the cars very comfortably before making the move.
Alternative: Live closer to where you work. I walk to work every day and I love it. It’s refreshing and mind-clearing before the start of a long day.
2) Getting from point A to point B
The main purpose of a car is transportation and what better way is there to get around than a beautiful automobile. Here’s the problem: There are far cheaper and effective ways to get around. If your idea of a good time is getting in the car and driving around might I suggest finding a more rewarding hobby? How about riding a bike or running or hiking? They are adventurous and a great way to get exercise. I got over my fascination with driving around in my car about 1 month after owning it.
Alternative: Find new ways to spend a day. Hang out with friends at the park. Go watch a movie. Explore the trails near your home. It always blows my mind how traveling around in a steel box is exhilarating to people.
3) Prestige, for lack of a better word
You won’t believe how many people I know who have cars just because they look cool. They rack up huge debts taking care of these gas guzzlers because they are a “boss” flying down the road in them. Other people I know own a car because they are too embarrassed to use public transportation. They would rather have zero dollars in the bank than be seen spending 3 bucks on a bus ride. There is something in common with being house poor, car poor and just plain poor. Yes, that’s right; in each case you are broke.
Alternative: Swallow your MF’ing pride and hop on the damn bus. It’s not that bad, believe me. Put on some headphones, play a cell phone game, read a newspaper, daydream, whatever you have to do. Try it for a week and I bet by the end you won’t be as against it. It’s humbling and cathartic.
Here is my point: I know that having a car is amazing, fun, necessary and everything else. The point is that if owning one is hurting you then you have to re-evaluate your priorities. For example, if owning a car to get to work is necessary but you don’t make enough to save money, then what have you accomplished? Maybe working for less a little closer is necessary. I have said it many, many, many times in my posts. You have to save some of your income, you just have to. If owning a car is your reason for not saving then you don’t have your priorities straight. Just like wearing all your money around your neck or on your wrist is stupid, so is parking it in the driveway. If you spend all your extra money on a car, you just might end up living in it. Hope the seats are comfortable.
Thanks for reading my post today and tune in tomorrow for my final reflection on this week. Have a great day friends!
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Joseph James Francis is a Financial Advisor. You can find him on various social media platforms and at budgetboss.ca.