If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been lately, I’ve been to Germany, working, been very sick and watching a lot of TV. You’ll be hearing about a few of them in my upcoming articles because, regardless of their “reality show” genre, I’ve really learned some good lessons from each.

The show Parking Wars airs on A&E and centers around the Philadelphia Parking Authority’s ticketing, booting and impounding divisions. Every episode has some type of drama, and it’s usually some citizen blaming the city, God, or just anyone except themselves for not following clear rules. However, not all the rules are logical or well-known, so I can’t blame some of them for their reactions.

Here’s just a few tips I’ve learned:

Learn to Read FOOL!

I know from living in the D.C. area that finding legal parking can be tough, especially when you’re not sure if you’re allowed to park somewhere, there’s a line of cars honking behind you and you have to pee like nobody’s business (ok, I threw in that last one). But when you find a spot and there are other cars parked right around you, don’t assume you can park there! Look around for ALL signs: on parking meters, on lightposts and poles, and walk up and down the street to make sure there’s no extra surprises. Sometimes you’ll find a sign 3 cars back with an arrow saying “No parking from x to y” pointing right up where you’re parking.

Sometimes the instructions are written right on the parking meter (e.g. you’re parking after 7 on a Saturday, but it charges till 10pm, so you still have to pay my friend). Also watch out for time limits. “Meter Maids” will either mark your tires with chalk or, if they’ve upgraded to handhelds units, they’ll punch in your license plate and time you that way. At the end of 20 minutes or 2 hours or whatever, and they show up, you’re getting a ticket.

So ultimately, you need to learn to read and pay attention. But here’s my next rant…

Don’t try to blame anyone other than yourself!

If you parked in a spot, and you get a ticket, don’t blow your top, especially if the “meter maid” is standing right there. They’re doing their job. And your job was to make sure you’re parking legally. If you need a permit, have one. If there’s a time limit, get out of the spot in time (and park on the other side of the street, which most people wouldn’t know unless they watch Parking Wars or read their city parking laws). Don’t park near a fire hydrant, don’t park too close to the curb (especially don’t block wheelchair access) and so on and so on.

There are tons of rules, but ignorance of the law is not an excuse to ignore it! Just because a street doesn’t have a speed limit sign, does not mean you can go 100mph. There’s laws covering that too, and it’s YOUR responsibility as a citizen to learn them. That’s why they give you things like a driver’s exam, right? Well, when you live somewhere, you have access to go to city hall and get copies of the laws and do some reading (not that I’ve done that myself, but I don’t live IN the city).

And if you find yourself with a bunch of unpaid tickets over a length of time (like more than 6 months each), don’t be surprised if you come out one day with a boot on your wheel OR your car towed away! And don’t be surprised if you have to pay over $100 just for the towing fee. And don’t even try to remove the boot or drive away with the boot. The boot will rip your car up!

Just don’t be stupid. Learn the law, and if you’re visiting somewhere else, read everything closely and don’t trust anyone’s answer whether you can park somewhere except for the city’s parking authority. The police don’t enforce parking, so don’t bother asking them, and don’t ask shopowners either.

Don’t act like a child

When I watch Parking Wars, it amazes me the idiocy of people when they know they’re going to be on national TV. They throw tantrums like little kids, or they threaten like common thugs. Either way, they’re being recorded and they know it! FOOLS!

When you have to pay a fine, go to traffic court or go pick up your impounded car, please act like a grown-up. Respect will be given to you if you give respect first. Granted, some people just have bad days, or maybe there was a line of harsh customers before you, but act civilized and don’t get frustrated by “the system”. It’s just like calling into customer service for your bank, credit card or the cable company; if you’re nice to them, they might cut you some slack. They’re real people too, but they have jobs to keep and won’t bend the rules for one person and risk that job.

If there was no parking enforcement, you would get NOWHERE in a city!

I know there seems to be no logical reason for some of the parking rules, especially when there are 3-4 signs piled on top of each other on a pole with seemingly conflicting information, but ultimately you need to think about the bigger picture. There WAS a time before parking enforcement. And you know what happened? Traffic jams all over the place. Horses and cars and carts and buggies just piled up on each other like some 4-year-old’s Matchbox car collection thrown in a ziplock bag. Just chaos.

By telling people where they can park, when they can park there and for how long, that you can’t just stop in the street “to run into the shop for a second” and block a lane of traffic, and so on, the city has done the first step to laying down some order to the madness. The next step is enforcing it, and that’s where ticketing, towing and booting come into play. It sucks when it happens to you, but think of the greater good! You wouldn’t even be able to drive in that area if people could just park anywhere. You would find a sweet spot, then come out and see you’re double or triple parked into your spot and can’t get out. Then who’s to blame. That’s right…the city, for not having parking laws

My own history of parking violations

I have 3 incidents that come to mind in my own life, and I recognize that all 3 were my fault, even though I’m still jacked about one of them:

1. When I was dating my wife and I was visiting her in college, she had her own parking spot at her building and I parked there (her car was somewhere else). It was summer and the windows were open and I hear a tow truck backing up. I look out the window and it’s hooking up my car! (It was my newly-purchased Acura, so I was livid). How dare they tow me from HER spot!?! Well, it turns out you needed a parking badge, even if it’s your spot, because that’s all the contracted towing company looks for. I had to pay $40 just for the tow operator to let my car back down.

2. In our current house, during an upcoming ice storm, I parked on the street, away from power lines and trees, and up a bit too far onto the grass (no sidewalks on this street). I got a ticket for about $40 for parking on the curb. I was upset and still suspect one of my neighbors for calling me in, but I recognize and accept I was in the wrong. I was just trying to keep my truck safe and make it safe for other drivers as it’s on a hill.

3. Back in 2002, when a friend and I visited Ireland for 10 days, we rented a tiny little car (aren’t they all over there?). This was a Fiat Seicento. It was a smaller than small car (for 2 fat guys), but I digress. We were in Sligo city and wanted to get lunch or something, so I parked in what I thought was a legal spot. Granted, I didn’t look around for any signs, nor did I wonder why no one else was parked there. Turns out it was a bus lane. We got back and there was a 19 Euro fine on the car (luckily they didn’t tow it!). In that year, 19 Euro was more like $15 US, but we had little cash on us as we were just out of college, saddled with debt (especially me). We could have just left the country without paying, but good thing we paid because I came back with my wife for our honeymoon a year later.

So there, I’m not squeaky clean myself. I’ve learned to read, to accept responsibility, and to understand why the laws are in place (with some exceptions). And I hope you do the same.

Mine: (these are cars I primarily drive):

1. 2001 Saturn L300 (brand new, owned for 9 months, traded in on a brand new…)
2. 2002 Acura TL-S (owned for almost 4 years and 95000 miles, then traded in on a brand new…)
3. 2006 Honda Ridgeline RTS (still own. Have about 83000 miles on it and still love it)

Wife’s: (these are cars that the wife primarily drives, even if I owned or half-owned all but one):

1. 1997 Pontiac Grand Am (she bought it around 2000 with about 75k miles and we sold it around 2008 with 130k). We loved that little car, even if it was a bit dinged up. It was hard to part with it, but we had to in order to save a ton of money on our car insurance.
2. 2004 VW Passat GLX (brand new, we owned it for 12 months and about 12k miles then traded it in, stupidly, on a brand new…)
3. 2005 Chevy Malibu Base (great gas mileage, but it had more plastic than brick of Legos and felt like it too. Therefore, we sold it about 12 months later, with, again, about 12k miles and just kept the Grand Am for a month until I bought the wife a…)
4. 2005 MINI Cooper. (used, bought in 2007, with about 30k miles. This got her addicted to MINIs, even if their reliability is crap and they cost twice to maintain than a domestic vehicle. We held onto this car for 3 years until I surprised her with a…)
5. 2007 MINI Cooper S! (used, bought in 2010 for her birthday. Fully loaded and originally almost $40k out the door, but we paid half that).

So now we’re down to a 2006 truck and a 2007 MINI, and both match our personalities and driving habits perfectly…for the most part. But since I love cars, I’m never fully satisfied.

While I just wrote about why I don’t think you really need a new car, I still can’t help myself from researching them, test driving them and trying to justify getting one. It definitely extends into USED cars as well. Here’s my two issues:

1. Finding a suitable replacement for my aging Ridgeline. I love the truck. There’s no mechanical problems, except the gas mileage for this size truck is the same as a full-size truck, and it’s smaller with only a V-6. Also, it doesn’t have any of the new “infotainment” luxuries like iPod integration or even an aux jack.

2. Finding a “supplemental vehicle” (aka third car). It has to be something that the truck isn’t. This has caused me the most angst because I want something affordable, reliable, unique, or maybe none of the above. I’ve thought about $25k Mercedes S-classes, $35k Mercedes SL-classes, $2000 Pontiacs, and a recent car which prompted me to write this article…

My “Almost Third Car”

I’ll admit this was a stretch because I was eyeing up a 2005 Mercedes SL500R, which the wife wouldn’t approve of due to the cost (but we both loved the car even if we never drove it), but sitting next to it was a 1985 Nissan 300ZX with only 30k miles or so for under $10k.

The wife approved of this car because it “fell into my price range” ($10k is about my limit), was unique, sporty, low mileage, well kept and even has removable T-Tops! I took it for a test drive and the only problems were: mushy brakes (need work of some kind), 1985 interior (needs updated), no airbags and no ABS. They would take care of bleeding the brake lines, etc., and it’s my choice to update the interior, but it ran great. I had to make a decision.

Why I passed on the car

There were a number of reasons I just couldn’t pull the trigger on this car:

• It felt like a runner-up. I wanted the car next to it, but this is what fell into my price range. I never felt an overwhelming urge to own a Nissan 300ZX, so why buy one now?
• The concern about safety of the older cars. Yes, I survived back in 1985 with no airbags and never wearing a seatbelt, but that doesn’t mean I want to put my life at risk today, especially around DC traffic
• The cost. While it was just shy of $10,000, and competitive when I did a nationwide search, I found some forums noting that it has tripled in value over the last few years. I didn’t want to be buying a collector car…I wanted a driver’s car. Granted, it could be a good investment, but…
• I don’t have a garage to keep it safe from the elements (criminal and natural)

But one of the bigger reasons is that a good friend of mine just lost his job. It hit home that the money that I think I have budgeted for my “fun car” could easily be part of our emergency fund if something happened to our jobs. I’m doing well in my new job (been here over 9 months) and the wife is well-enough (except no option for vertical or lateral movement, pay increases, etc.), but we have jobs and that’s what matters.

The good thing is we have only our one mortgage and no consumer debt. We pay off our credit cards every month, have excellent credit histories and scores, and have a very healthy savings. Plus, with no dependents and two incomes, we can get by quite easily even if I lost my job (I’m the main breadwinner).

So I’m not out of the car market yet, but I do have to keep reminding myself that our cushy life could change at any moment. Staying liquid with our finances is important, so having a chunk of money locked up in a depreciating asset is not the right course unless I’m really getting enjoyment out of it. So the search continues…

While many boomers will say that the golden age of motoring is long gone, I would beg to differ. Speed, gadgets and safety have never been cheaper, as are interest rates, and supplies are staying high on many new vehicles.

So why wouldn’t you buy a new car if you’re looking at one?

Well, I have a few arguments against buying a new car. Some are common sense, some not. And being a car geek myself, I know that many of you will just try to reason yourself out of many of them anyway, but here goes…

Money

The first obvious reason, although maybe it isn’t that obvious to some, is the instant depreciation of your vehicle when it’s signed over into your name and you drive it off the lot. Maybe you negotiated thousands off the price or got a 0% interest rate, but you’ll still lose money on the deal thanks to the taxes you paid and the value lost from the title transfer (you’re now owner #1 and each new owner makes the vehicle lose more value).

Now, if you’re looking at 1-2 year old vehicles right now, you might also want to compare against a new vehicle due to the high price of used cars now (at least fuel efficient ones), but older than 2 years, the better for you thanks again to, you guessed it, depreciation. Luxury models take an especially hard hit.

For instance I was looking at 4-5 year old Mercedes S-Class sedans. These retailed for $80-$120k and are now selling for $25k-35k with only 50k miles on the clock. Another example are Porsche 911′s. Once going for close to $100k, you can find a ton for a half or third of the price. You can look like a baller without dishing out like one.

But what about repair costs? Well, do your research to make sure you’re not buying into a junker and you’ll find that the huge wads of cash you saved buying used will stay in your pocket. While you might love the idea of a factory warranty, it rarely helps you in the first few years so you’re paying for something you won’t use. You can always buy an extended warranty with the money you’ve saved to get some peace of mind, and stash away the rest in a “car fund” to take care of the remaining worries. Again, though, just perform your due diligence when you first inspect the car for purchase and you’ll find that a second-hand car will almost always be a better financial decision.

That Green Stuff Outside

When you buy a new car, you’re destroying the planet!

Even if you’re buying a hybrid, a Volt or a Leaf, you’re buying something new that had to be produced with new and recycled resources. If you’re buying a used vehicle (or deciding to just keep your existing car), the damage has already been done. You can’t change the laws of science: if it’s made, it’s made and if it’s not, it’s not and you have to use up new stuff to make it.

Sure, if you’re driving around in a Hummer for 200,000 miles versus a tiny Ford Fiesta, the emissions and oil usage (and the impact to the roads over time) may actually outweigh the environmental cost of making the Fiesta, but in the end, it’s usually cheaper and better for the environment to just keep what you have or buy used (and downsize) as it’s not taking up new resources.

Safety

The newer the car, usually the safer it is. However, in the last decade, most of the big safety improvements have been made and now it’s up to “nanny technology” to improve more. Things like adaptive cruise control and blind spot warning systems will help avoid collisions, but they’re expensive additions, weigh down vehicles and may even end up being more of a distraction than a help to some (think of when “Cruise Control” first came out. People actually thought you could set it and let go of the wheel and let the car drive itself). This leads to…

Driving Pleasure

Having the latest gadgets and gear is only enjoyable (for most people) within the first few hours, days or weeks of ownership. After that, it’s the same old thing. A Lexus can feel like a Toyota and a Mercedes can feel like a Chevy (not saying Toyotas and Chevys are bad…they’re just not considered “luxury transport full of new toys”).

Also, I mentioned “nanny technology”. Features that are installed to improve your safety usually take away from your control of the car and the ultimate fun you can have. If you’ve ever watched Top Gear, think about how many times they complain about traction control when they’re at a track and how some cars won’t let you turn it off anymore. Sometimes the older cars are just more fun.

But…

I’ll admit I love new cars, new technology and just reading about what’s the next big thing in vehicles. Every day I’m conflicted whether my next car should be new or used, and how long I should keep my truck. I love the “new car smell” (even though it’s really just the smell of deadly chemicals from the manufacturing process ) and can’t resist driving through dealer lots once a month.

I myself can’t guarantee my next car won’t be new and I’ll have gone against all I just wrote, but at least I’m putting out there what you (and I) should be thinking about when we’re in the car market.

We live in an older community, where our home is 70 years old and those south are mostly 50-60 years old. Back in those days, they didn’t have the concept of McMansions, and most of the home are about 1000-1500 square feet.

So, I generally classify our community (including the largest collection of homes, not just the few streets around us) as either “starter homes”, “downsize homes” or “rental homes”. But on one of our walks recently, we passed a home we’ve passed many times, but something new struck me. You see, this home is average size for the neighborhood, has a garage, but also has a very large driveway. In that driveway is parked one of those “bus motorhomes” (i.e. they’re the same size as a bus). Plus it has a trailer hitched in the back. Kudos to the owner for being able to park the thing, but my focus here is on the following:

Why would someone own a mobile home as big as their house?

But then another thought came to mind (no, not talking about the jealousy one): For all these people with small homes, why not buy a motor home or trailer for the extra room?

I’m no expert on the hookups needed for electricity or water, or even zoning laws for your city, etc., so I’m mostly ignoring those technicalities here, but think about it. Instead of spending $40-100k or more on an addition just so you can get another bed for someone to sleep in once a year, buy a small camper. On the hot or cold days, it’s prepared in some way, whether running from its engine, a generator or hooked into your outdoor outlet to heat or cool the interior. Your guests would basically have their own living space and wouldn’t need to “invade” your home!

And in the economy of the past few years, mobile homes (trailers and campers, not the single-wide type) have taken a pounding and dealers are begging buyers to take them off their hands. Even better, you can get a used one for even less. I have a truck and would just need a hitch and not only would I have that special addition already furnished that we’ve been wanting, but also our own vacation lodging when we want it!

I know I can’t be the first person to think of this. Let me know if you’ve done something similar (e.g. put up your in-laws in your camper for the week), or have an informed opinion on the matter. Remember, rules and laws change by neighborhood and municipality so what goes in rural Arkansas might not be allowed in downtown D.C.

_{Photo courtesy of Philandthehounds}

Well, to me, spring fever means I want to shop for a new car! While I haven’t bought a car for myself in the last 5 years, I have bought cars for my wife. For some reason, when the weather gets warmer, I just get the urge to buy a new car.

In my current situation, I’ve still very happy with my 2006 Honda Ridgeline truck. It does exactly what I want, and has even taken us 4000 miles roundtrip to TX and 2000 to FL in the last year with no complaints. But I’m not looking to replace the truck; rather, I’m looking for something either:

1. more luxurious (like a Town Car, Lexus LS, Merc S-Class or some other large highway cruiser)
2. sportier (like a Nissan 370Z, Porsche Cayman)
3. more commuter-friendly (like a Ford Fusion Hybrid or even a Chevy Volt…when the cost comes down $15k!)

But my current temptation is somewhat a mixture of all of the above…

A 2005 Mercedes SL500.

A specialty dealer near us actually has 2 SL500′s in stock (a 2003 and a 2005), but the 05 is much sweeter. Convertible hardtop with photochromatic roof (like transition lenses), heated/cool/MASSAGING SEATS, and a host of other luxuries. I don’t need rear seats because I have the truck, and the trunk has enough for a weekend trip. And it’s priced at least 60% less than new (they run over $100k new).

So what keeps stopping me?

I actually have a few reasons I’m resisting buying this car. The lesser reasons are:

1. We don’t have a garage. You don’t keep a car like this out in the weather.
2. It’s black and you know how hard it is to keep a black car clean?
3. Having a nice car just means that much more to have to worry about such as dings, scratches, etc. You want it to stay nice, but you also want to get your money’s worth out of it and drive it. Lose-Lose.
4. Yet another vehicle to insure and maintain. Mo cars, Mo $$.

But the biggest reason I’m resisting buying ANY new car (unless something really cheap comes up…that’s a different story) is because it’s not in our future plans.

Granted, we have a problem that we don’t really know what our future plans are!

What our future holds…maybe

Since I like lists in this article, here’s a list of things we may or may not want to do in the near and long-term future:

• Probably not have kids, but you never know. Kids aren’t in the cards right now as we pretty focused on our jobs and travel, as well as our nieces and nephew.
• Maybe move somewhere totally different. I can’t imagine moving to a different home in the D.C. area because we like our house, our neighborhood and our city, and it’s easy to commute to many jobs we find. However, my wife is getting tired of the grind of her job and is thinking of something totally different (she doesn’t have a clue what yet), while I’m working on saving up money just in case.
  • When I say moving somewhere totally different, it could be out west like AZ or CA, or somewhere south like NC or SC, or even overseas (although that’s a major, major decision we’re not ready for)
• Maybe make some major changes to our home. If we decide to stay where we are, we have plans for some nice renovations to make it more livable (like redoing our upstairs or adding a sunroom/Florida room).
• Definitely travel much more. I don’t want to give much away on timelines, but we’re definitely going to Germany within the next year, and we’d like to visit friends in Kenya and maybe go back to Ireland again.

Therefore, throwing, 20,30, or $40,000 at a car just isn’t in the cards, as much as I would love a new ride. Until we figure out what we want to do with our lives, we need to play it safe. And neither of us want to make a decision just to have some permanency. In other words, we don’t want to just have kids to get the decision over with and get that “monkey” off our backs.

For now, we’ll enjoy the extra income coming in from the lack of debt (except our ever-decreasing mortgage) and the assurance that we’ll be covered with whatever decision we choose down the road.

I really shouldn’t tell others, I suppose, but getting this out there lets all of you know that you need to consider whether your points are safe AND will hopefully inform Giant/Shell that their promotion is severely flawed.

First, I’ll start by saying I never carry those grocery store cards (or any other store for that matter) because now they all let you punch in your phone number at the register to get any discounts. And that’s the flaw:

Someone else can use your phone number at the pump and steal your points!

Think about it, if you either tell your friends/coworkers/etc. that you use Giant to get gas discounts or if they even suspect that you do (i.e. you have kids and shop at Giant a lot), there’s a chance that someone with compromised morals can just test punching in your phone number at the Shell gas pump to see if you have at least 100 points. And I don’t believe anyone is going to try to track down the offender, unless you make a “Giant” stink about it.

How would you combat this? One way it to register a Google Voice number (free) and get a new Giant card with this number…and then DON’T TELL ANYONE THE NUMBER!

So, just be cautious who you tell when participating in deals until you know the risks and pitfalls. Make sure to read the fine print and also consider the information you’re providing and how it could be used against you.

What are your thoughts?

But as mentioned, keeping the headlights on all the time wears them out, but not as quickly as you’d think. My 2006 truck is close to hitting 65,000 miles on the odometer and “finally” one headlight went out. But how did I find out?

You see, I don’t want to drive at night with a broken headlight and risk a traffic ticket, and I don’t regularly inspect my vehicle by walking around while the lights are on (and Maryland doesn’t have an annual safety inspection), so I found 2 very simple tricks to testing all my vehicle lights.

I bet half of you will say “duh” to these tips once you read them, but I bet only a small fraction of you have ever thought of them on your own!

How to easily check your headlights:

Turn them on, day or night, and look at the reflection in someone’s bumper/rear of car. DUH! But that’s how I’ve always done it and how I found out my headlight went out today. I guess it helps if you have traffic or red lights in your area, which I know some of you don’t, so here’s another tip…

How to easily check ALL your lights:

Drive up to or back up to a shop window (or any large reflective area you can see from your vehicle) and turn on your lights, tap your brakes, etc. DUH! Actually, if you’re often alone and don’t want to ask someone to check if your brake lights work, this may be your only option (other than sticking a brick on your brake pedal and getting out to check. OOH! That’s a third tip!).

See how simple these tips are? Did you say “DUH!”? Well did you ever try them? I bet not!

However, not all of us do our own auto work to save money. In my case, I just like getting into the engine bits, but just enough to not really risk breaking the car (much). In other words, I’ll change fluids, because it’s not hard, but I’m avoiding replacing brakes and other things that help stop your car.

My Honda Ridgeline has reached 60,000 miles, which means it’s about time to replace the transmission fluid and the rear differential fluid (it’s an All-Wheel Drive truck, so it has a gearbox in the back that needs lubrication from oil).  Knowing the dealer, and even non-dealer mechanics, charge hundreds of $$$ to do these fluids, I chose to turn to the internet to learn how to do it myself.

I searched and quickly found the following article that covers both the transmission fluid AND the rear diff fluid:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20628

It’s an excellent write-up with photos and a list of required supplies. With forums, you get to read through everyone else’s questions and experiences to make sure you don’t make someone else’s mistakes. For instance, someone decided to use the drain hole in the truck’s trunk to run a hose and fill the rear diff fluid up. Personally, I used a $10 gallon pump kit from the local auto store. Took longer and more energy, but I can reuse the (washed) pump for other chemicals down the road.

Changing the Oil in Our MINI Cooper

Since our MINI is out of warranty, and I was VERY unhappy with the $252 oil change a while back, I decided it was time to learn how to change the oil myself. Luckily, I found the following forum entry:

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/4928-maintenance-oil-change-how-to.html

And while I didn’t use the oil vacuum method in the following video, the out-of-car engine example really helped to supplement the article. I would, however, recommend asking your friends if they have the 36mm and 1/2″ ratchet so you don’t need to go spend $30 on a new duo. The 1/2″ ratchet isn’t a normal size unless you work on cars often, so find the car nut of your neighborhood and beg them to borrow one. Or, you could be a jerk and buy them and then return them when you’re done, but I didn’t tell you that

So, use the internet to your advantage, but also beware of going into a job unprepared. For example, if you drained the oil in your vehicle then realized you forgot to buy new oil, then you better hope you have another car or a nice friend to help you. In my case, it wasn’t until I drained the MINI oil that I realized my ratchet sets won’t fit the 36mm socket, so I drove my truck to the auto store to get the right size. Ugh!

But in the end, I was a happy camper and got to know more about the setup of our MINI, including inspecting the seals, bolts, etc. for myself. You can do the same and become a “Weekend Mechanic” yourself.

When it comes to personal finance, we are all looking for ways to save more money. Our household budgets are filled with both big and small expenses that we imagine can be cut out to save us loads of cash or at the very least, spent better elsewhere. One of the things you have surely considered is using public transportation rather than your own vehicle.

Are the Bus and Train Cheaper?

It would be easy to assume that public transportation is cheaper, because a bus token is far less expensive than gas, but those are not the only costs to consider. Take a step back to your high school economics class and try to remember the lesson about opportunity costs. These, as you might recall if you were awake for that class, are the things you give up when you choose one option over another option. Although they are not measured in dollars and cents, they still have to be considered whenever you make a financial decision.

There are a lot of opportunity costs when you take public transportation instead of using your own vehicle. For me, the biggest cost is comfort. Let’s be honest, public transportation is frugal, but just not that pleasant. Buses and trains do not look a bit like the ones on television do they? I used to live in Chicago and every time I see a train station or subway on ER or any other Chi-town based show I think, they must have shot that in the nicest train in city, or it does not exist in reality at all. Most trains and buses are not very clean and not always filled with people with whom you want to share a ride. Taking public transportation also takes a lot of extra time. You will have to get to the station, possibly in your car where you will have to pay for parking, then get on one or several trains and buses to get to your actual destination. It can easily turn what would have been a 20 minute commute into an hour long one.

Of course, the time cost is debatable depending on where you live. When I was in graduate school in a small city in Indiana public transportation was free for students which was a dream during those frugal times. But, it was only buses and took 45 minutes to get to campus. To drive it would have only taken 20 minutes but I had to pay a premium for parking. However, since I often had to be on campus in the evenings when the buses were not running, I had to purchase a parking pass anyway, so the bus was not really much savings (gas back then was still pretty cheap). On the other hand, if you live in a big city like Chicago or New York City the drive could take you an hour, even if it is only a short distance. Those drives too could tend to be very unpleasant; lots of sitting in traffic and listening to car horns and colorful language choices from other frustrated drivers.

Red Line, Purple Line, Conga Line!!!

One of the other things that was problematic for me is that I could never figure out the bus or train maps and schedules. I tried hard in school to manage my personal finances and care about the environment, which heavily leans toward public transport. Once, after waiting and waiting on a bus that never arrived (and I was not entirely certain was the right bus anyway),  I decided just to walk all the way home. I do not recommend this. Needless to say it was my last solo attempt at the Indiana buses. If you are lucky, like I was, to know someone willing to help you understand the labyrinth that is the city bus or train schedule, beg them for help.

When it comes to the actual money you would spend on using your car over public transport, the public transport is likely going to be cheaper. Passes for the public transportation are somewhere between $20 and $50 a week, depending on where you live. If you have to park your car at the station you can add on another $50 a week at $10 per day. That means that your personal finance would be impacted at about $100 a week, in the city if you drive your car to the station. It drops to less than $50 if you can catch a bus close to home.

If you drive your car you have a lot of costs to consider. Even if the car is paid off you are still paying insurance at a rate of $100 a month, if you have a relatively cheap policy. That adds $25 a week. You can also figure a tank of gas a week at an average cost of $2.50/gallon for a 10 gallon tank. That adds another $25 per week. Add to that the cost to park in the city. In a place like Chicago your parking space would easily cost you $20/day. Added up, driving your vehicle to work will cost you at least $150 per week.

It is pretty obvious that the frugal choice is to use public transportation if you are looking at numbers only. But, remember to also consider those opportunity costs. Is your time and comfort worth the extra $50 or $100 per week? Are you spending extra money on child care because of the extra time that public transportation adds to your commute? Are you using your car for other things like stopping at the store or going out with friends after work? If you do not own your car the choice is obvious, take the bus or train and save a bundle. But, if you already have a car is it really that cost effective to take public transportation? Maybe, maybe not. It comes down to your personal preference. Only you know how comfortable you will feel using public transit and what you have to sacrifice for the extra time and effort it takes to do so.

This is a guest post by Timothy who is a personal finance writer and part of the team at Credit Card Finder. For more information, simply visit our website or subscribe to our RSS Feed.

It wasn’t until after our first purchase that we found out about the 30-day rule, and that purchase earned us $33 towards the first $100. A few days later, we needed some groceries for a trip we were taking, and that earned us another $33 (about $8 of it was for flowers for my honey).

So, we’re up to two-thirds of the amount we needed to get 10 cents off, and it only took a week. Now my personality takes over.  I feel committed to this endeavor, and I must see it through to the end! When we get back from our trip, we needed a few more groceries…and here’s where I get dumb.

I fell for the exact thing I warned against: shopping at Giant ONLY because you want the cheaper gas. Doing so means you’re missing deals at other stores, or worse, buying stuff you don’t even need. And we did both (yes, I’m pulling my wife into this too!).

We needed milk and syrup. That’s all. But we walked out of Giant with $38 worth of groceries, and most of it was impulse purchases (like cereal and wafer cookies, although they WERE on sale!). But we crossed the 100 point line!

The next day, I let my truck get down to about 2 gallons left (gas light on), but I didn’t make it to the Shell station when I was nearby. Unfortunately, the next day we had a picnic with friends a good distance away, and I really needed gas in the truck since they don’t have a gas station on the way there. Therefore, I did the next stupid thing on the list: I went out of my way just to get Shell gas!

The process was easy enough to get the discount. I slid my Giant card, then my credit card, chose the octane and then it showed the discount applied to the per gallon price. I fill up, knowing the whole time that I did all this just to save about $1.90. Ridiculous. I also knew that the gas station down the street from our house had gas for 15 cents less than this Shell’s normal price. I could have saved 5 more cents, but I got sucked into the marketing genius. (although I will state that the cheaper gas station is sketchy and I’m not always confident of their gas quality).

So there you go, the Clever Dude wasn’t so clever…but at least I knew what I was doing the whole time. I just couldn’t change my desire for closure on those points and I let my strength become a weakness.

Oh well. Maybe I’ll stop shopping at Giant now, just to avoid earning any more points