Scooter Mileage Update

Miles per gallon update continued from: Scooting Along

I've been spending a considerable amount of time on my scooter lately. If there is any word that expresses my overall opinion of all things scooter related it would be "Awesome."

I was finally able to track my fuel economy on my 2007 Honda Metropolitan and I was elated with the results. (I had lost the ability to track my speed/distance for a few weeks because I melted the speedometer gear during some front brake adjustments.) My last tank of gas was the reason for my excitement over the efficiency of the scooter. Over the course of a week I traveled 132.2 miles and used up a meager 1.089 gallons of 87 octane petrol at a total cost of $3.79.

132.2 Miles Traveled / 1.089 Gallons of gas = Average of 121.4 Miles/Gallon. 

That brings my cost per mile to a sub $0.03 average.

Long story short.... I'm going to look at another scooter tonight so that I can have a matching pair.

Scooting Along

As a young entrepreneur I am always looking out for a new way to make a buck to better my debt situations as I struggle to finish college.

Today's Solution... Buy a Scooter. (So I did. See Below)

Here is the break down.

Scooter  - $1000 (used of course)
1yr of insurance - $100.00
Gas/100mi - $3.00
Motorcycle safety foundations class - $170.00
License - $8.00
License Test - $11.00
Total cost first year at 4000 miles of usage... $1,409.00

Car Gas/100mi - $17.50
1 yr of insurance - $450.00
Cost of Driving the car 4000 miles....$1150.00

Savings on a gas comparison level

Scooter cost per mile - $0.03
Car cost per mile - $0.175
Savings per 100 miles - $14.50
Savings per 1,000 miles - $145.00
Savings per 10,000 miles - $1,450.00
Savings per 20,000 miles - $2,900.00

In other words... once you have your scooter to 10,000 miles, it starts to make you money everywhere you drive it. of course it would actually be way before that because we didn't factor in the things like cost of maintenance on the car that would be saved by not driving it as often. Or the amount of money you would save by not buying so much crap when you are shopping because you have no room to take it home. But the great news is that you would be saving $57.00 on each tank of gas (400 miles)

So here it is... If you want to save money, buy a scooter. It pays in the long run, and you get to have a fun toy in the process; however, don't go selling you car just yet because it still rains and friends still need rides.

Thoughts on Personal Finance

We all have some dream of what we would like our financial future to look like: the big house on the beach, the fast car, the commas in the savings account, the investment portfolio, the cool toys, nice clothes, long vacations. These may be the goals we have for our lives but like anything that is wanted for the future, it takes careful planning and hard work to achieve those goals.

Getting Started.

1. You can't ever be in control of your finances if you don't know what you make and what you spend.
2. You must have a goal in mind to achieve financial success. (Notice the word success is used here instead of wealth or prosperity, etc. Some people may only ever desire to live 1 day ahead of their bills, while others shutter of that thought of not having a 24 month cushion.)
3. Start with the information you already know.

Steps.

1. For one whole month collect all of your receipts, and write in a journal all of your cash transactions that do not have a paper trail (vending machines, lending to friends, cash tips, 7-Eleven snacks, etc.)
2. For that same month track how much money you make. Pay stubs, cash tips, gifts from friends, etc.
3. Make a list of all your fixed bills. Rent, Phone, Internet, Utilities, Insurance, Car Payment, Gas, Groceries, Loan payments, and any other bills that must be paid every month.

At the end of that month sit down and look at how much money you made first. Then deduct all of your fixed bills. This leaves your discretionary funds. This money is what you get to decide what you will do with. Will you eat out, go to movies, put some in savings, fix your car, buy new clothes, give some away, spoil your friends. This is the only part of your monthly income that you can change every month and have total control over. Most financial success is based on balancing your fixed bills, with the discretionary spending you would like to have. If you want to have more money to spend on your wants, then you will have to lower your fixed bills (rent, utilities, gas, car payment) or increase your income.

4. Categorize all of your spending for the first month you kept receipts. ex.

Rent - $800
Utilities - $163
Auto - $89.50
Gas - $247.51
Car insurance - $93.47
Groceries - $121.14
Dining Out - $84.50
Entertainment - $47.12
Fitness - $30
Clothing - $41.37
Medical - $45.00
Education - $73.00
Misc. - $ 160.20
Total - $1995.81

5. Determine how much money is left over at the end of the month from you total income-total expenses. Some, None, or < None.

6. Then the hard part. Decide if you like the final outcome of Some, None, or < None.

7. Make the choice to make changes the next month that will help you reach you goal. Some of the questions that you should ask yourself might include...

a. Do I really need to live in this $800 apartment or could I find a $650 one that would suit my needs across town?
b. Do I really need the $120 cable package, or could I survive on broadcast TV and internet streams?
c. Is the car I currently drive what I need? Would I be better off getting something more fuel efficient even if i have to give up cool points, or some space?
d. Should I really be eating out so much? Do I need to go to the movies every week?
e. Could I make smarter choices about the groceries I buy?
f. Could I set my A/C thermostat on temperatures that use less energy, 79 instead of 74 in the summer?

8. Make the commitment to your goal and figure out a way to achieve it. Is it the envelope system? where you cash you paycheck and put the money straight into the envelopes for each category and when the money is run out so is your spending for that category? Or maybe cash is your problem and you need to stop carrying cash because you nickel and dime yourself into the poor house?

Making Some Green

Although I wish I was writing about how I want everyone to start riding their bicycles to work, walking to the store two blocks down, trading in their 2011 Honda Pilot for a 1995 Civic DX, or only running their A/C when the inside temperature in the house is above 90 degrees; this is not the type of Green I am making.

Jobs. I have one. I wish I didn't.

Here is the pole.

1) Is it better to have a job that you enjoy 50% of the time but are happy about what the money you make from the job affords you

2) Is it better to have a job that you enjoy 90% of the time but can't afford all of the things you would like

3) Is it better to have no job and enjoy everything in life because all you have is free and you are more likely to give freely in return because of your poverty

Butscher's Leather

I've recently began the idea of starting my own business. Though I have worked for many places and been involved in a great array of industries, my dream is to work for myself and not for another. This is my dream to be in control of my own future. To be able to reap from what I sow.

I am working to get a business going, "Butscher's Leather". As for now it is a one man operation that is done between the hours of 10:00pm and 2:00am in my garage after I get home from my day job. I can't say that it is perfect, but I want to someday turn this hobby into self sustaining one if nothing more.

Some of my recent work has included.

 

This is most of the recent work that I have completed using 100% hand craftsmanship. I wish I had the convenience of having a sewing machine, or other modern leather working tools, but since this is just starting as a hobby I am using only simple hand tools and needles and thread.

I love this. And as long as I still love working leather I will continue this as a hobby. Maybe someday It will be come an up and running business but for now it is just for the joy or being able to create with my own two hands.

Cash Tips

Today's lesson is this. The harder you work the more your work will give back to you.

This isn't only true when you are talking about tip wage jobs, though we will cover them first. I run a cafe/bar/grill/service cart food and beverage operation during the day. It is very hard for me to teach people to work hard. But it is easy for people to want to make more money. I have a simple answer.

Work harder, work smarter = Make More Money.

Our industry specializes in personalized sales. People don't come to the Golf Club to eat, the come to play golf and we they to customize our menu to convince them they also want to eat. I work diligently to make the right food for the right person. Even if it isnt on the menu. I want to be able to give them the best item for their needs. This is how I am getting ahead with my customers and building a repeat client base.

On the money making side of the job is this. Find out what people like, and find out how to make them want what you have. I am not a pushy sales person. I offer things, rather than push things. If you glass is empty I ask if you want another. If you are sitting with nothing, I ask if you want something. If you stare at the menu and then walk to sit down, I know you are hungry just dont know what to have. All of the people I can sell things too.

My "girls" have a different job though. They must go to the customer that is never going to come to them and then convince them that they need something. They are required by Job to be pushy, but kind. Sweet and Bossy. They sell by replacing empty cans in your cart and waiting to be paid for them. Or getting your more beers knowing you have a tab open. They convince you that you need a snickers bar to make it through the next nine holes. They use theirs smiles to trick you into saying yes when you never knew you wanted anything.
They are the sweet innocence that plays devil in your head.

This is where the money is made. Driving around on a Beverage Cart. Selling a thousand dollars in beer/soda/candy/water and then going home with 20% or more in tips... oh yeah and sales bonuses. It doesnt take much for a cart girl to be able to make $20/hr just smiling and being a little pushy.

Professor Perry Curtis - Wants and Needs

The most influential teacher of my adult life was Perry Curtis. You can check out his BIO <here>.

These are the two lessons he shared with me over 2 years ago and I will never forget them.


Lesson #1 Wants VS. Needs. 

We are all creatures bread into the microwave society of the 21st century. We want things now and have been convinced by media that these are things we need. We need an iPad, iPhone 4, and a BMW. We also need Diesel Jeans, Sperrys and Shox. We need our hair highlighted, we need the newest of everything and we need to eat at all of the cool places with our friends.

But it turns out these are not needs. These are Wants. Needs are a House; Transportation, not always being a car but could also be a bus pass, a bike or walking; Clothing, simple clothing of quality enough to present ourselves to the needed levels; food; water; and friendship.

It was a hard sell to our class that everything we want is not a need. Shoes are a need. 7 pairs is not filling that need. A car might be a need, but a $50,000 car isn't a need. Coffee might be a need, but Starbucks is not a need. Food is a need, but eating out is not a need. Jeans might be a need if you only have one pair, but $300 Diesel Jeans are not a need.

He illustrated this point to us using his daughter as an example. She wanted icecream that day and was begging to have some. She said, "But Daddy, I need some." He had to then explain to her that she wanted icecream because her life would not be any worse off if she didn't have icecream that day.

Opportunity Cost more closely defined what he was trying to teach us. Everything that we choose to spend our money on takes away something else we might have otherwise been able to buy.  If I buy the icecream that I want, I wont have enough money to pay the rent which is something that I need. If I eat out 5 times this week for $10, I wont have enough money to replace the tire on my car that gets me to work.

Lesson #2 Know Where You Spend Your Money.

Professor Curtis challenged us one day in class. He called it a quiz. "Without pulling out you wallet of your purse, how much cash and change do you have on your person, and in your bank accounts? How much to the penny? Question #2. Name every item you have purchase in the last week and how much it cost."

I thankfully can say I was one of the closest out of my class with my answers. I was within $.12 cents on my cash and within $22 on my bank accounts. Today, I find that to be awful.

His lesson was short and clear. How can you be in control of your spending if you don't know what you are buying and what you have and if you can't remember every item you purchased in the last week then your purchases weren't meaningful and definitely were not needs.

Our assignment that week was to write down every penny we spent, from a pack of gum, to a $500 car payment. Every penny we spent we had to write down. It was amazing and disgusting to see where we all spent our money and we didn't even know. I am proud to say I can account for every penny I have spent or earned in the past 24 months. This is how I took control of my finances.

We also did a Case Study later that week about how much little purchases can add up to. I will cover this in a later post. It will be entitled Starbucks for Bankruptcy.

Remember to fill your needs first and choose your wants wisely. I challenge you to account for every penny you spend for one week. It will change how you spend money for the rest of your life.