I sat down recently over one of my many excel spreadsheets
and updated some numbers only to find that I am within striking distance of one
of my long term goals: having my bike
pay for itself
I probably could have done a better job giving updates on
this but to make a longer story short, back in 2012 I decided to invest a
pretty big chunk of capital into a nice bike, $1,000 to be exact. The fun didn’t stop there however, as I also
needed a lock, riding glasses, tools, parts, etc. I’ve kept track of everything and the total
so far is $2,685.21. Yep, the
accessories, tools, and equipment cost more than the bike itself.
But I wanted all of this stuff for free. No, not just free. I wanted it to make me money. I wanted my bike to become an income
producing asset.
In Japan, your employer pays for your transportation to and
from work. So, if you have to take the
train and the fare is 500 yen your employer will then refund you 500 yen on your
next paycheck. If you ride your bike
however, you can pocket the 500 yen (500 yen is about $5). My train fare to work is almost double what
it is in my example, 900 yen. So every
day that I decide to get on the ole war horse and bike to work I get to pocket
almost 9 bucks. That money really adds
up over time, enough to even cover the cost of the bike and its satellite
costs.
I started back in September of 2012 and since that time I’ve
collected $2,305.74 in work related travel compensation. That leaves me with only $379.47 to go. I’m confident that by August or September not
only will my bike be paid off but it will start paying me! Notice how I haven’t included a single cent
from not having to pay for gas, insurance, car maintenance, car parking, etc.
in my calculations. If I were to include
that cost savings as well, my bike would have been in the black many months
ago. Nor am I including the money that
my money is making from being invested.
Again, it would just put me into the black faster. But, I’m only looking at cold hard cash that
I have collected in hand.
Even more than the money is the health related
benefits. I wasn’t overweight before so
I wasn’t looking to drop any pounds, but I feel confident that I can drink a few
beers during the week and not have to worry about it. I sleep soundly at night, and my GF says I’m
looking the best she’s seen in a while. It
also feels good to know that I am in the beginning of my 30’s and probably the
healthiest person in my group of friends.
I think of this time as a critical point where if you don’t start taking
care of your body it’s going to take more time and energy to dig yourself out
of a hole. The sooner I start getting in
fit condition the easier it will be to keep my body like that.
I’ve also learned more about my community and
neighborhood. In case of another
earthquake I would know how to get home in case public transportation
stopped. I could even help other foreigners
who might not know the way.
When I owned a car I knew how to change my oil, and put gas
in the tank (or waste money rather).
Anything else beyond that was beyond me.
Now, I’m my own mechanic. I’ve
learned how to change brake and shifter cables, align my derailleurs, clean a
chain, replace brake pads, and use clip-less pedals. Just about the only thing I haven’t done yet
is change my bottom bracket, but even that wouldn’t take much effort. The beauty of a bike is in its
simplicity. Anybody can look at one and
pretty much “get” how it works. Then it’s
just a few youtube videos to learn the tricks and you’re off and running. I never used to have confidence in my car
because it was always braking down, and I even had good mechanics in my
family. But with a bike I never ever
have to worry again about being late or abandoned on the side of the road
because of an overheating radiator, or a failed alternator.
The only drawback that I can think of is that I don’t get an
hour and a half on the train to read, study, listen to music, or play
videogames anymore. Not that that’s a
bad thing, and not that those activities can’t be done any other time of
day. I still find a lot of time to sit
in front of the old TV.
I suppose the only thing I might have done differently was
to look at a used bike versus a new bike.
Unfortunately I was on a limited time line when I bought my bike, plus I
got a great deal on it from the company that makes my bike. Still, I could have saved probably another
$500 or so by searching Craigslist more.
