4 ms·

I would normally agree but the difference could be around $5 each way for 250 work days a year. A few thousand dollars a year is quite a lot.

aviv 8y ago
If $5 each way is a lot of money, it's a sign you are not making enough money. Optimizing life to save that $5 increase is exactly the mindset that keeps people living paycheck to paycheck. Increase the top line, expenses don't matter if you focus your effort on making more money.
- ghaff 8y ago
  Seriously? I’d argue that kicking a $5 per day Starbucks habit is hardly a sign that you need to make a career change. It seems a lot closer to plugging a mindless money leak if it’s just something you do by default.
  - aviv 8y ago
    You should kick it because caffeine (and the cow milk most people consume it with) is bad for you, not because it costs $5. And yes, especially after a certain age, you should have a job where a few random $5 charges you don't recognize on your credit card statement are something you ignore and don't even bother disputing.
    - ghaff 8y ago
      It’s not about some random $5 charges. It’s about money spending habits that, to use the current meme, don’t bring you joy and collectively can add up to a considerable amount of money.
    - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
      What do you mean by this? Any charges made against any payment card or account that you don’t recognise should be swiftly investigated. If a bad actor charges a bunch of cards a few dollars each, and some portion of them don’t investigate / dispute the charge that could net them quite a sum.
- kerng 8y ago
  A comment like this reflects being part of the privileged 10%, probably even more like top 1-2%. Many are not that privileged and will never have the opportunity or chances to reach that. In the grand scheme of things it's more like luck, then anything else. It reflects how distant some are from reality of majority of people. 5 * 2 * 5 * 4=200. For many 200 dollars per month can be a quite significant cut in their paycheck. Recurring and continuous costs like these are exactly what makes the difference
  - aviv 8y ago
    This is where you are wrong. Anyone in the western world workforce has the opportunity or chances to change that. This is not a privilege. And certainly not luck. I agree that for many, $200 a month is significant. That's why I'm saying - don't try to save $5, try to MAKE $5 (and much more). There are so many ways to make money these days, you don't even need "proper" education, luck, access, none of that. But you do need mindset and will. Most people choose to be complacent. Their mind doesn't see beyond the 9-5, beyond the concept of being a mere employee. They rather spend hours per day watching dumb Netflix content, Twitch crap, gaming, whatever it is that people do other than GROW. Just about anyone can spend a few days watching Youtube and teaching themselves the ins and outs of such things as Facebook ads, Shopify, Dropshipping, Social media management, and of course... Clickfunnels. Anyone can pick this up. You don't need to be a PhD or CS major. In fact, those are often times a hindrance. IF people only spent half the time they waste on Twitch with consuming actual knowledge - they would not care if a Starbucks cup was $5, or $50.
megaremote 8y ago
If you are regularly commuting via Uber you are doing a lot of things wrong.
- ghaff 8y ago
  Why? If it’s an alternative to owning and parking a car in a city, it seems like something that could be a rational decision especially in the absence of good transit options.
  - mlthoughts2018 8y ago
    In any city where the economics of car vs uber work out in favor of uber, then necessarily the economics of train + bus vs uber work out in favor of train + bus.
    - zeroonetwothree 8y ago
      That’s clearly false unless you value your time at $0
      - mlthoughts2018 8y ago
        Bus + train is much faster than Uber, for example in NY. You’d take an Uber in order to have the luxury of riding alone or with a small group instead of a crowd, or because you have a large suitcase, but absolutely not because it’s faster. This is no different than the same tradeoff for taxis. And the context of this subthread is about Uber as a full solution for commuting. So my original claim still holds. If things like always riding alone or always transporting luggage are impacting your daily commute decision and making you believe that paying the premium for Uber is cost effective, then necessarily it’s even more cost effective for you to buy and maintain your own car, and satisfy those unusual commute preferences in a way that amortizes the costs of operating your own car even in a dense urban area.
- teen 8y ago
  ? Been doing it for years
bluedino 8y ago
It's perfectly okay to tell someone to buy a cheaper car or one that's better on gas. Car owners spend thousands more than they need to commute to work.
woolvalley 8y ago
Cars cost more than that. If I had a choice between a second commuter car or $200/month of ubering, the ubering would be cheaper. Car ownership in the bay is something like this: * $100-500/month car payment or depreciation * +$100/month in gas * $60-120/month in insurance * $100/month in amortized maintenance costs = $360/month minimum base cost And if you work/live in SF or need to go over the bridge: * $100-200/month in parking space rent * $100/month in toll bridge costs Plus adhoc parking costs as you use your car.
- rimliu 8y ago
  Wow. My costs: 300€/month payment which includes insurance. 60-80€ a month for gas. And mind you it’s expensive there ~1.2€/liter ~30€/month mainatence. 2/3 of it comes down to change and storage of winter/summer tires (winter tires are mandatory).
  - woolvalley 8y ago
    I said amortized maintenance, so when you have to replace that $300 part and pay $100-$300 in labor to do it, that is part of the bill spread over a year. To me repairs are an inevitable part of car ownership, so I put in the maintenance category. Not just replace your oil and swap your tires type maintenance. Maybe a year or two you'll have no repairs, then get a $1500 repair bill because a water pump broke, and some asshole who breaks your car window to steal nothing, leading to $2000 of 'surprise' repair costs that year. Also if you buy a used car for $15k, then sell it 5 years later for $9k, that is equivalent to a $100/month car payment, which I call car depreciation.
    - rimliu 8y ago
      My numbers do include repairs, which was 0 euros. I also have an insurance which would cover asshole scenario.

aviv 8y ago

If $5 each way is a lot of money, it's a sign you are not making enough money. Optimizing life to save that $5 increase is exactly the mindset that keeps people living paycheck to paycheck. Increase the top line, expenses don't matter if you focus your effort on making more money.

ghaff 8y ago
Seriously? I’d argue that kicking a $5 per day Starbucks habit is hardly a sign that you need to make a career change. It seems a lot closer to plugging a mindless money leak if it’s just something you do by default.
- aviv 8y ago
  You should kick it because caffeine (and the cow milk most people consume it with) is bad for you, not because it costs $5. And yes, especially after a certain age, you should have a job where a few random $5 charges you don't recognize on your credit card statement are something you ignore and don't even bother disputing.
  - ghaff 8y ago
    It’s not about some random $5 charges. It’s about money spending habits that, to use the current meme, don’t bring you joy and collectively can add up to a considerable amount of money.
  - TheSpiceIsLife 8y ago
    What do you mean by this? Any charges made against any payment card or account that you don’t recognise should be swiftly investigated. If a bad actor charges a bunch of cards a few dollars each, and some portion of them don’t investigate / dispute the charge that could net them quite a sum.
kerng 8y ago
A comment like this reflects being part of the privileged 10%, probably even more like top 1-2%. Many are not that privileged and will never have the opportunity or chances to reach that. In the grand scheme of things it's more like luck, then anything else. It reflects how distant some are from reality of majority of people. 5 * 2 * 5 * 4=200. For many 200 dollars per month can be a quite significant cut in their paycheck. Recurring and continuous costs like these are exactly what makes the difference
- aviv 8y ago
  This is where you are wrong. Anyone in the western world workforce has the opportunity or chances to change that. This is not a privilege. And certainly not luck. I agree that for many, $200 a month is significant. That's why I'm saying - don't try to save $5, try to MAKE $5 (and much more). There are so many ways to make money these days, you don't even need "proper" education, luck, access, none of that. But you do need mindset and will. Most people choose to be complacent. Their mind doesn't see beyond the 9-5, beyond the concept of being a mere employee. They rather spend hours per day watching dumb Netflix content, Twitch crap, gaming, whatever it is that people do other than GROW. Just about anyone can spend a few days watching Youtube and teaching themselves the ins and outs of such things as Facebook ads, Shopify, Dropshipping, Social media management, and of course... Clickfunnels. Anyone can pick this up. You don't need to be a PhD or CS major. In fact, those are often times a hindrance. IF people only spent half the time they waste on Twitch with consuming actual knowledge - they would not care if a Starbucks cup was $5, or $50.

megaremote 8y ago

If you are regularly commuting via Uber you are doing a lot of things wrong.

ghaff 8y ago
Why? If it’s an alternative to owning and parking a car in a city, it seems like something that could be a rational decision especially in the absence of good transit options.
- mlthoughts2018 8y ago
  In any city where the economics of car vs uber work out in favor of uber, then necessarily the economics of train + bus vs uber work out in favor of train + bus.
  - zeroonetwothree 8y ago
    That’s clearly false unless you value your time at $0
    - mlthoughts2018 8y ago
      Bus + train is much faster than Uber, for example in NY. You’d take an Uber in order to have the luxury of riding alone or with a small group instead of a crowd, or because you have a large suitcase, but absolutely not because it’s faster. This is no different than the same tradeoff for taxis. And the context of this subthread is about Uber as a full solution for commuting. So my original claim still holds. If things like always riding alone or always transporting luggage are impacting your daily commute decision and making you believe that paying the premium for Uber is cost effective, then necessarily it’s even more cost effective for you to buy and maintain your own car, and satisfy those unusual commute preferences in a way that amortizes the costs of operating your own car even in a dense urban area.
teen 8y ago
? Been doing it for years

bluedino 8y ago

It's perfectly okay to tell someone to buy a cheaper car or one that's better on gas. Car owners spend thousands more than they need to commute to work.

woolvalley 8y ago

Cars cost more than that. If I had a choice between a second commuter car or $200/month of ubering, the ubering would be cheaper. Car ownership in the bay is something like this: * $100-500/month car payment or depreciation * +$100/month in gas * $60-120/month in insurance * $100/month in amortized maintenance costs = $360/month minimum base cost And if you work/live in SF or need to go over the bridge: * $100-200/month in parking space rent * $100/month in toll bridge costs Plus adhoc parking costs as you use your car.

rimliu 8y ago
Wow. My costs: 300€/month payment which includes insurance. 60-80€ a month for gas. And mind you it’s expensive there ~1.2€/liter ~30€/month mainatence. 2/3 of it comes down to change and storage of winter/summer tires (winter tires are mandatory).
- woolvalley 8y ago
  I said amortized maintenance, so when you have to replace that $300 part and pay $100-$300 in labor to do it, that is part of the bill spread over a year. To me repairs are an inevitable part of car ownership, so I put in the maintenance category. Not just replace your oil and swap your tires type maintenance. Maybe a year or two you'll have no repairs, then get a $1500 repair bill because a water pump broke, and some asshole who breaks your car window to steal nothing, leading to $2000 of 'surprise' repair costs that year. Also if you buy a used car for $15k, then sell it 5 years later for $9k, that is equivalent to a $100/month car payment, which I call car depreciation.
  - rimliu 8y ago
    My numbers do include repairs, which was 0 euros. I also have an insurance which would cover asshole scenario.