The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: jschaefs on January 24, 2015, 03:01:07 PM
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Hi all,
I recently resigned from my job as a program manager for a non-profit. I was burnt out and needed a change. I don't regret it.
However, in all honesty I do not have a solid plan going forward. I was not only burnt out with my job, but burnt out with the field. I'd like to get into another field (urban planning and development). I need to assess my options and that will take some time and research. I am also looking to rest and reset.
That being the case, I'm toying with the idea of going back to my part-time college job of pizza delivery. Money is pretty good (20/hr with tips), I could essentially get paid to catch up on podcasts and audiobooks, and it is an easy/low-stress position.
There is a problem however.. I don't own a vehicle. For the past year an a half I've been commuting to my old job on bicycle. It has been great. Don't miss having a car.
Still, though, delivering pizzas seems like a great way to meet my basic expenses and not dip into savings while catching up on books/podcasts as I take my time to explore my next moves. I imagine doing this for at least 3-6 months. There is a decent chance that I would go back to school, in which case, I would perhaps keep the car and continue delivering to make some side cash.
Question becomes.. what kind of car should I get? I should note that if I'm going to get a car, I'd like to have the option to rent it on Relay Rides to earn some side cash and help offset the expense. Relay Rides requires the following to list your car: Less than 100,000 miles, newer than 2003 model. That means I'd likely need to spend at least $3,000 on a car. Which is fine. My last couple of cars were $500 cars from the 90's. I didn't drive much, so I figured they were good enough. However, they really nickel and dimed me, so I like the idea of a newer car in that sense.
There are a couple of Kia Spectra's on craigslist. One is a 2008 with 80,000 miles for $4,700. The other is a 2009 with 70,000 for $6,000. Both private sellers. A friend of mine is trying to convince me that I should just lease a new Civic which our local Honda dealership has on special for $200/mo right now. That doesn't seem like a great idea to me.
Mustachians! What do you recommend?
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Money is pretty good (20/hr with tips), I could essentially get paid to catch up on podcasts and audiobooks, and it is an easy/low-stress position.
There is a problem however.. I don't own a vehicle. For the past year an a half I've been commuting to my old job on bicycle. It has been great. Don't miss having a car.
An incomplete assessment here, I think. $20.00/hour plus tips MINUS car purchase MINUS guaranteed car expenses--fuel, maintenance, insurance, taxes, and paperwork MINUS possible car repairs (more likely since you're thinking high mileage and then pouring on more high miles. Considering you don't own (and don't miss) a car, this really becomes a "how much would owning a car impact my earnings" question. I don't think it takes long to get to a much lower wage than you expect. If you already owned a car or planned to get one regardless of your job, then that aspect becomes moot. Considering you might make $12-15/hour without a car, you might be surprised how soon $20/hr less car expenses approaches that figure.
I'll leave make and model suggestions to others.