A lot of people don’t really think enough about what their lifestyle actually costs. They don’t realize how much money they waste in any given day on things that they really don’t need. This becomes painfully obvious once you start to track every single dollar that you spend every month. Most people don’t think that spending two dollars a day on their morning coffee is that big of a deal since it is only two dollars. But, that is sixty dollars a month. It’s even worse at one hundred and fifty dollars a month if you’re buying a five dollar latte from Starbucks. That’s $1800 a year assuming you buy one every day. I know most people don’t drink one everyday but it is still shocking when you think about it. Eighteen hundred dollars could be a vacation, part of a down payment on a new car, or anything that is better than an over-priced high-calorie beverage.
Last year I saved over one hundred dollars but putting all of my change that is smaller than a loonie in a jar. A hundred dollars from my quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. It makes you realize that it really is the little things that add up. I also save a considerable amount every month by drinking the free coffee at work. I know it’s not technically free but it is my employer that covers the cost for me. I only make coffee at home for myself on the weekends and I make a seven dollar can of coffee last for months. This is only a problem on days like yesterday when the coffee maker at work is broken. That was pretty rough.
This is true for a lot more things than people realize. I was talking with a friend of mine (the same one that is obsessed with credit card interest) who told me that I should get a bus pass to go to and from work. I told him that is wasn’t worth it for me to do that. Someone once told him that is was cheaper to take the bus than it is to drive and now he won’t let it go. I had to walk away from this conversation before I started yelling and throwing things. He didn’t understand the math.
I only live 3.1 km from work. So 6.2km a day for the round trip at 12 L of gas per 100km and $1.10/L works out to about $16 of gas per month to drive to and from work. If a bus pass costs $85 dollars then gas can go up to about $5.60/L before it is cheaper for me to take the bus to work. This would not be true if I had to pay for parking. I’m lucky enough to have free parking. This also doesn’t take into account what I pay for insurance and maintenance on my vehicle. But, since I have no intention of ever getting rid of my car for evening and weekend excursions, my costs for insurance would remain the same and my maintenance costs would not decrease enough to make taking the bus more cost effective.
A lot of people just have certain ideas in their head that they seem to be stuck on. They can’t see the forest for the trees. If people would just sit down and analyze their lifestyles a little more closely they would find that they could potentially save hundreds of dollars a year. Just like Scotiabank’s slogan says, you’re richer than you think.
No comments:
Post a Comment