Low Wage Living - Episode 6 - Transportation

So far we've covered the house and food and now we need to figure out how we are getting about. This is where we start deviating a bit from the 'norm'.

So far the budget is a grand total of 800 bucks and we've committed 400 to housing, 160 to food and our Wiggle Room is currently sitting at NIL.

1. Shelter 30%  50% of our budget - $400

2. Food 20% - $160

3. Transportation 20% - $160

4. Phone 10% - $80

We overspent on housing for several reasons, prime location close to employment opportunities, fixed cost for utilities, additional choices. We were looking to maximize our value while minimizing our risk. In America everyone seems to have a car, the problem is cars do not appreciate over time, what you put into the car will most likely be more than you can get out of it when you got to sell it. We have additional costs to fuel it and the real problem if it breaks down it breaks the budget.

Now if you happen to already have a car, it's probably to late you might as well put that number right here in the budget and be done with it. If you bought something big and silly (I'm looking at you trucks) that you do not need for your job it's time to see about getting out from under that expense.

Now the thing is we need to be able to get to our job so going without a car does limit our options. Thinking about a typical commute of 25.4 we need to live close to where we work.

Walking 3mph or 1 mile in 20 minutes.

Biking 10-15mph or 3-5 miles at the same energy output as walking  (Thank you wikipedia!)

Driving in city 25-35 mph or 8-12 miles

Just like where you live there is a security concern. A big metal vehicle hitting a pedestrian is not good for the pedestrian. Bikes can be even worse as you can get up some real speed on those things without the protection of a metal cocoon.  Some of this comes down to a personal choice. For me I'd go with the fixed cost house, and no transportation costs for 400. Someone else might choose 260$ housing and added mobility.

Now this won't necessarily help us for the first month as we are still going to want a bike for added mobility, we need to be able to make interviews after all! For the budget though our Wiggle Room is back to $160