The cost of comfort.

Transport accounts for 19% of my $1,126 monthly variable expenses.

Since sixteen, you have had a car, did you ever stop to think what the real cost of cars to your financial situation. Fuel, maintenance, parking fines, speeding fines, rego? Up to this point, I have got

The car must be let go and public transport utilised. You did a run couple days ago, and it takes ninety minutes each way to work, and $5.5 per trip. You walk to a train station five minutes work from your place and swapped over at cbd station to your workplace and walk fifteen minutes to work. Each workday cost $11, compared to $21 in fuel as your 20 yo car has a milage of 13L per 100k.

Isn’t that better?

Saving time you might say, or convenience, sure but on the contrary, you can provide 100% attention to podcast and audible, or even consuming information to better yourself, to grow and increase your chances of achieving financial independence.

And about the Jimny? A car loan of $40k at 7.69% pa over five years. That’s a extra 5k you can save from interest. So fuck the car. You have to work 135 hours to make that interest. A whole months work.

You be five thousand out of pocket and have a depreciating liability that loses 20% of the total value as soon as you drove off the showroom and further 30% in the first year alone. You got to be CRAZY to believe that it is a good value.

Using the standard compound interest calculation 𝐴=𝑃(1+𝑟)𝑡 and interest calculation 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡=𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝐴𝑚𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡−𝑃𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙

    A=5000*(1+0.07)5
    1.075≈1.40255
    𝐴=5000*1.40255=7012.76
    𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡=7012.76−5000=2012.76

So the total interest is +$2012.76 over five years. You are $2012.76 better off than -$5,000 if you put it in ETF like IVV with a 7% annual return rate in form of dividends.

So, no.

No car, alyeksandr. Instead I am trialing using public transit for six weeks.