Green Minded Wallet

So I ended up getting my car fixed. It turns out that some animal managed to devour a number of important wires and switches. Since it definitely qualified as an emergency and not something that had to do with the age or wear of the car, I didn’t really have a problem spending the money to fix it.

On an unrelated note, the budget that I set up for myself this year is not really working anymore. It’s been breaking down over the last few months and became pretty much unhinged in July. Some allocations are working well, while others are failing miserably. The basic problem is that I have some expenses that are important to me, but I didn’t do a good job in estimating them. Part of this stems from incomplete information or changes in pricing. For example, the cost of allergy serum jumped up from $300 to $500. While my insurance does kick in after my deductible, my budget does not reflect a $400 annual charge for an allergy visit and new serum, since I didn’t start getting shots until recently. When I had a real full time job, there was enough flexibility that I could reallocate funds without having to make any major sacrifices. Given that my spending allocation isn’t very beefy to begin with, along with the fact that it covers many categories including gas and gifts, I am having a difficult time. I’ve read the websites, I’ve read the books, but it still isn’t making things a whole lot easier. I’m trying to step back and work out some goals for the next two years of grad school and plan on tackling it again (perhaps this weekend). We shall see.

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A few months ago I had to replace the starter on my car. It was a moderately priced repair when all was said and done. My car is well taken care of, but as it ages things start to go. This morning I couldn’t get my car to start. My mechanic came by (you’ve gotta love small towns), took a look and was able to determine that it wasn’t the starter (which I had already surmised). So I paid the money to have my car towed to the shop and they will take a look at it (hopefully tomorrow morning). The challenge that I’m facing is that I believe there’s a point beyond which it’s not wise to continue pouring money into an old car, but I don’t think that I drive enough to justifying buying something that would require a car payment (and higher insurance). I suppose that I could buy something in between, but I don’t think that I could find anything for a reasonable price that would require significantly less “older car” maintenance than my current car. The other issue is that since my car has a good deal of body damage (it’s been hit twice while parked), there isn’t really any resale value, especially if it’s not running. I guess a large part of the decision will hinge on the cost of repair. Still even if it’s a cheap fix, there is the chance that at some point before I graduate I will be at this crossroads again.

Any suggestions?

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Apparently today is annual ‘Dump the Pump’ Day, which is suppose to encourage people to use mass transit over driving. Until this afternoon I thought it was just a local thing as our bus service had signs up and offered free rides, but turns out it’s national! I’m not sure how successful it was (though I suspect it likely had more of an impact than in prior years), but I think it a great idea. My bus fare is already paid for by student fees, but I still like the concept. I can’t say that I notice increased traffic on the bus, but hopefully some of the bigger cities saw a greater increase in ridership than my little college town.

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With the ever-increasing cost of gas, many people have been offering tips on how to make your gas go just a little bit farther. I thought that I would share some tips that, if I followed, would likely increase my fuel efficiency.

1. When traveling for a particular purpose, make sure to bring any items that you may need. For example, if you are going to the store, bring your wallet. If you are going to the laundromat, remember to bring laundry detergent.

2. If you have a meeting or event, make sure you know the day, time, and location. If you don’t you will waste time and money on travel, plus you will feel silly when you arrive a week early for the party.

3. If your car is prone to be a victim of hit-and-runs and as such has pieces dangling from it, make sure to secure them firmly and re-inforce them from time to time. I don’t have the scientific evidence to back it up, but from firsthand experience it would seem that having pieces of your bumper scraping the highway at 70+ mph causes a loss of fuel efficiency. I find duct tape and string to be relatively inexpensive, yet invaluable for this purpose.

Any tips that you would like to share?

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If I combine the generally upward trend of gas prices with the fact that I’m cheap and I don’t really like to drive, automotive transportation is likely to play a decreasing role in my summer transportation efforts. While I generally ride the bus to my office, I find that I often use the car for errands. Not this summer. For the most part, I doubt that there are very few things that I need to buy that are too bulky to carry while riding a bike. So if I plan right, I hope to be able to seriously limit my car trips and make use of the bus, bike, and feet whenever possible. My plan is simple: unless I am required to look nice when I get there, there’s a threat of inclement weather, or I have to travel rather far away - no car. If all goes according to plan I should be able to keep a little more money in my pocket and a little less CO2 in the atmosphere.

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When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to have a car; to be able to drive myself wherever I needed and wanted to go, whenever I wanted to go there. But as I’ve gotten older and become responsible for maintaining my own car my feelings have changed. Instead of envying those who have cars, I actually look towards those people that I know who have successfully managed to survive without one. I have friends here in town that do it. Personally, I find it both a scary and exhilarating prospect. In the past few weeks, I’ve had enough setbacks with my car to make me wonder why I own one. I don’t think that the problem is that I have a particularly old or defective car, on the contrary I have had a lot fewer challenges with my car than most people I know. I think that the problem is, I see more (or at least equal) downsides, than upsides to owning a car (which makes me more prone to get annoyed when something goes wrong with it). When I was younger I always thought about the freedom of owning a car, but I never realized that there are burdens associated with vehicle ownership as well. Even if you’re not making payments on your vehicle, you will end up paying for insurance, gas, and maintenance (often monthly). Furthermore, there is the upkeep as well as having one more thing that you have to safeguard from accidents and theft.
I also like the environmental aspect of a carless existence: the feeling of doing something really good for the planet. One of my good friends released her old car and went a few months without one, simply getting by on just a bike. While there were definitely consequences, some rather surprising and unwelcome (e.x. high car insurance rates later on), she definitely can look back to that time in her life as a unique period. Personally, I don’t think that I’m there yet, and I’ll just have to keep hot-wiring my car when the need arises. But I do think that it might be something nice to try. If not forever, at least for a little while.

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