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What's the best financial decision you've ever made?
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this post was submitted on 08 Jul 2023
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Not owning a car is probably the single most significant saving most people can make, a moped/e-bike will pay itself off within the year from gas costs alone, and public transport in europe at least is usually slightly less than that for a year ticket.
I wish it was possible not to own a car in the US. But our infrastructure is built so poorly that it is actually impossible.
I feel the same. Even in a state as populated as NJ the public transit system is mediocre unless you are going into NYC.
I only live about 6 miles from my job. If I rode my bike, I'd probably get killed on the road I'd have to take to get to work.
Yes awful public transportation...but "impossible"? Nahh. Still, could save alot of wear and tear getting and ebike for a portion of travel distance.
I was doing a 20 mile one way commute on an ebike in Austin before I moved and now work from home. Driving was still slightly faster but not being in traffic was worth it.
I buy the best car I can afford for cash and maintain it. Repayments on a $30,000 car work out at around $7500 a year for me. Until a car starts costing me big in repairs or breaking down repeatedly and inconveniencing me I just pay the money and keep it well maintained.
A $10,000 volvo that Ive had for 3 years has cost me $3k in assorted repairs. So $13000 vs $22500.
Question about the public transport system, how long does it take to get to common destinations like work, grocery stores, doctors, and etc? Also, how easy is it to get to stations/stops?
For example, the closest grocery store by me is a 37 minute walk or 12 minutes by bike I just don't think it would be practical to ride with a weeks worth of food for a family. There is no public transportation available.
When living in more walkable areas you don't feel the need to stockpile food as much. Often times you'll pass a grocer on your commute and can grab some fresh ingredients to use that night or the next few days. This can help save money too as you can take better advantage of short sales and have more opourtunity for "eat today" type discounts. Theres also the health benefits of active transportation. Unfortunately in most western society being able to walk to essential life giving food isn't seen as a priority in neighbourhood design.
There are electric cargo bikes that you can strap large panniers or containers to
Rad City cargo bikes
I personally don't ride anymore except for exercise, partially because I'm soft, and partially because there are not many safe paths/bike lanes to shopping areas
For distances you can reach within 20-30min on bike, public transport is usually about equal. Here in sweden (where public transport is kinda eeeeh) gettign to the stops is easy so long as you're not outside a town.
I think your problem is that you're applying car logic to non-car modes of transport: when you can reach the store in 12 minutes by bike there's little reason to buy a week's worth of food at once.
I usually buy food for maybe 2-3 days at a time, and not seldom i will just buy the ingredients for a meal literally a couple hours before, since it takes no time at all to go shopping.
You can also get a cargo bike which will honestly fit about as much food as people bring in their cars anyways. Same goes with a bike trailer.