land v. gas

LAND V. GAS
Before starting today, further signs that we are out of a recession. Home foreclosures increase 7% in one month. The Fed is buying 1.25 trillion in mortgage back securities. The national average pay raise is 1 1/2%, far below the past average of 3% and way below inflation ( my whopping raise combining my one year anniversary with the rise in minimum wage was 3/4%, not even enough to keep up with food inflation, let alone any other ). Of course, as unemployment rises the robber barons remind us we are lucky to have any job, let alone one paying over minimum wage. As they are busy transferring medical insurance on to the taxpayer. Yep, those green shoot recoveries sure look hopeful.
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I'm better off paying for land than transportation. When I originally planed on moving up to Elko, I would have had two choices. Commute an hour and a half each way by bike or pedal for a half hour and then burn three quarters gallon of gas getting to and from work. Then another half hour pedal. If I had gotten the other car to run properly it would have "only" been a gallon of gas. My lot fifteen miles from town was ten miles of freeway and five miles of very bad road. I would have had to bike to the freeway, and then get in the car I could have paid to store at the RV park. Even not worrying about the rent fee, gas alone would have run me $60 a month. By making payments on a lot much closer to town I bike the same amount ( well, six instead of five, but it could have been the same depending on where I got a job ) and don't have to depend on a vehicle for transportation. I use the truck on the weekend to run into town, but that is pure luxury rather than necessity. I can kick the car habit cold turkey if needed.
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I am spending slightly more money by buying a new lot. But in the end I end up with another piece of land instead of just a pile of gasoline receipts. Unless I had a string of auto repairs, in which case I would be saving money. But, wait, what if gas goes up in price? I rounded up to $3 a gallon, but what if gas goes to $4 a gallon? Now I'm paying $80 a month in gas, very close to my $100 a month land payment. At $5 a gallon I end up spending the same one way or another. But wait! There's more. Pedaling ten miles a day burns up a lot of calories. That is extra food you have to buy. So I'm not really spending that much less, even at three bucks a gallon. At my current location I buy land and more food. Call it$120 a month. If I lived further out of town on the lot already paid for I'm spending $60 for gas. $20 for food. The parking fee should really be included. A minimum of $25. With no car repair bills, ever, or no gas price increases, ever, I'm still spending $15 less a month to live on my "rent free" land. Is it worth that small amount of initial savings? No, because dollars to donuts something will break on the vehicle and gas prices will increase.
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Now, lets add in my third lot. The first lot is paid for, fifteen miles from town. This is my ultimate fall back if I'm totally broke. Lot two is the one I'm living on now. $100 a month and six miles from work. Bike repairs have averaged $40 a month. But I don't factor those into the equation because they would cost the same if I was on the rent free lot ( five miles to the parked vehicle ). Lot three is a further three miles down the road. If I moved there I could stop paying on my current lot ( lot three is still being paid on, but it is a luxury rather than a necessity ). But now I'm back to a commute cost. I won't ride my bike the further distance, even to save $100, because it is hard enough at the current mileage. In bitter cold weather, or the usual strong head winds, and extra 50% commute is too horrible to imagine. So, let's say I now take the vehicle to work. Still about a gallon a day in the Hippie Bread Van. It isn't worth buying another vehicle for another five or ten miles per gallon. Assuming no repairs or gas cost increases, I go from $120 a month to $60 a month cost of rent. A much better savings. And if I did move, I could start building permanent structures such as skirting or sheds ( I won't build now because I have six more years to pay off this land and don't think my job will last that long ).
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So why haven't I? I would actually spend more money building than I would save. Even adding another $40 on saved bicycle repairs. And I would have the fear of repair bills and gas cost increases. More stress, in other words. For sixty to a hundred bucks a month. If I just wait until permanent unemployment my costs will go to zero and I won't have commuting cost stress ( although plenty of stress otherwise ). So, I really haven't shown that gas is more expensive than land. But it isn't too far off. Close enough that the slight extra cost is a built in safety net. Your land cost is frozen. Your commute cost will most likely only go up. It isn't a strict dollar amount decision. Lack of stress and a form of insurance aren't free. Of course, in the long run I would be better off moving now. Less money to land, more money to improve the homestead. But, I figure I'm working one and a half jobs already. To further complicate my life at this point is just getting silly. My plate is full enough. As I said, it can't always be just a dollar amount decision. The point of today's article? Put a lot of consideration into your commuting cost when deciding where to live.
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