By Mike Johnson
A bicycle is a miracle of movement.
It still uses your own human power, but thanks to wheels, leverage and gears, propels you faster and easier than walking or running.
Based on what they provide, bicycles are priced so inexpensively as to be virtually free.
Yet people still predominately use cars for travel.
This makes sense for rural people with great distances but less sense for short distances.
Especially now that e-bikes have proven to remove exertion, sweat, wind and hills from the equation.
Rain and snow are still issues, but baskets and paniers solve the problem of carrying personal and purchased items back and forth.
I don’t promote bike use for “green” reasons.
I promote it for fun, simplicity and the freedom that comes from lowering monthly expenses, forever.
If I lived in a town or city, I’d bike or walk everywhere for sure.
Cars cost tens of thousands, require gasoline, insurance, annual taxes, repairs, cleaning, and the worries of theft, vandalism and accidents.
Many purchase a separate garage to store their vehicle.
Since many families hold multiple jobs and have children with multiple events, they own two or three cars.
So their transportation expenses are doubled or tripled.
Bikes don’t have any of those expenses or worries.
A good bike costs less than $200.
A good e-bike costs less than $2,000.
Walking costs nothing.
The average new car payment in America is $735 per month. Used is $523 per month.
Average monthly car insurance is $200 per month per car.
The average monthly gasoline bill is $175.
Average monthly repair expense is $33.
Average monthly registration and tag cost is $21.
AAA says the average annual cost of owning one car is $10,728 or $894 per month.
The average hourly wage in America is $28.16.
This means your car requires you to work 383 hours every year to pay for it.
That’s about 10 weeks of fulltime labor.
Based on these numbers, it takes a fifth of your pay just to drive to work.
Plus the unpaid time to commute.
Plus an hour of unpaid time to get ready for work.
Plus daycare.
Plus wardrobe.
Plus stress.
Plus losing your prime, daylight hours.
Plus time away from the people you love the most.
Interesting.
Some people, after reviewing the cold hard math, might sell their car, quit that job and figure out a smarter way to earn income.
From home.
With the people and environment they love.
As an independent peddler.
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More:
87 Ways to Earn Cash Without a Job
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