Income: €32,000 / After tax: €24,000
(asset) Emergency fund: €12,000
(asset) Stocks: €25,000
(liability) Debt: Student Loan €27,000 @ 0.81% per annum
Net worth: (€37,000 - €27,000) = €10,000
Tax Filing Status: Single
Tax rate: 25.00%
State of Residence: Netherlands
Age: 27
Desired Asset allocation: 100% stocks / 0% bonds
Dear all,
Since car ownership is such a big Mustachian item, I'd thought I'd ask for advice here.
I've been commuting bike, train, bus and another bus for 2 hours to work, and then the same 2 hours to get back home for the past year. My employer paid my commuting fees of €300/month. But still it was 20 hours of commuting per week, with 40 hours of work per week and often overtime, often put me at 12-14 hours of being busy with work every day.
My new employer no longer pays for public transportation, so now I pay about €300 out of my own pocket for transportation. It no longer makes sense to commute this with public transportation, since with a car it should be a 30-40 minute drive, a 66%-75% reduction in my total commuting time. My quick estimate of small car commuting would be €400 per month (assuming car lives 10 years), similar to public transportation here. And I can use 20 hours more of free time a week.
Is it worth commuting at all? Definately yes, I moved back in with my parents and pay zero rent. My monthly expenses are about €500 (150 food, 80 healthcare, 300 commuting). 75% savings rate has been hit quite a few times over the last year.
But it's time for a car to significantly reduce commuting time. I know of three colleagues and a friend who bought 5-10 year old second hand cars of ~€6,000 and drove them succesfully for many years. But my dad keeps insisting on buying new around €15,000. That would make an unsightly dent in my stash: about a whole year of near-maximal savings.
Is buying new at €15,000 just not Mustachian at all?