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The Cost of Commuting -- Balancing Time Versus Money

Here's a piece from Business Week that says in 15 top U.S. cities, the more you make, the more time you probably spend commuting to work. In other words, the high earners generally don't live in an urban area, they live in the suburbs and need to take a car, train or some other form of transportation to get into work each day. Here's a summary of the situation:

The study also suggests that there is a link between salaries and the time people spend in a car, bus, or train each morning. The poorest people in these urban metro areas have the shortest commutes. In the Boston metro area, for example, people earning less than $20,000 a year commute typically commute 17.3 minutes each way compared with people earning $50,000 to $60,000, who commute 30.8 minutes. Commute times in the city of Boston don't rise much for people earning more than $60,000. Similarly, in New York City commute times climb steadily as annual salaries rise before peaking for employees earning $110,000 a year. The commute time peak in Los Angeles is $60,000; it's $70,000 in Detroit; and it's $30,000 in the vast Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, where the typical commute time for wealthy workers is just 26.4 minutes.

This obviously brings up an interesting time-for-money sort of discussion (not to mention the "quality of life by living outside the city" discussion, but we'll table that one for now. For illustration purposes, here are a couple personal stories -- one from a friend and one from me:

* A friend of mine used to live in New Jersey and had a job in New York City. He would commute two hours each way into work and then back home for five days a week. Yep, you read that right -- four hours a day commuting (or 20 hours a week.) He got up at 4 am so he could leave home at 5 am (to "minimize" traffic), getting to work at 7 am. He then left at 6:30 pm (again trying to limit the traffic he had to fight) and got home each night at 8:30 pm. In other words, he was gone each day from 5 am through 8:30 pm. His family life was almost non-existent. He slept much of the weekends because he was exhausted. His health was a mess. Sure, his family had a nice home and he made $150,000 a year, but he didn't really have a life. He moved to a smaller city a few years ago and had a 15-minute commute, a bigger house in the suburbs, still made close to the same amount, and his quality of life went way up (BTW, his finances probably improved dramatically because his living costs likely dropped big-time.)

* You all have seen the cities I've lived in, so you know that I've never had a huge commute. My worst was actually in Pittsburgh where I had a 30-minute one-way commute -- much worse when the weather was bad. Even in DC I took the metro and made it to work in under 20 minutes (of course I was a student then, and probably would not have lived where I did if I'd had a family.) My commute now is under 15 minutes in good weather but can be as much as 30 minutes if we get hammered with snow and ice the night before. In other words, it's a GREAT commute for the most part -- not much time at all.

We've talked about the fact that some people want to be paid more if they have a long commute, and I can see where they're coming from. If I had to switch to a longer commute (let's say 30 minutes each way), there would certainly need to be a compelling reason (like much more money, better job satisfaction, etc.) before I would move. My time is just too valuable to give up for a few thousand dollars more a year.

How about you? How do you balance the time/money issue?

Seven Ways to Avoid Buying a Used-Car Lemon

When we buy a car, here's what we do:

• Save up for it in advance -- starting when we buy the previous one for cash
• When our current car gets to the point where it's getting unreliable, a pain to fix, and/or costly to repair/maintain, we identify which models we might be interested in
• We check out Consumer Reports to see which of our favorite models have good reliability
• We test drive all of the cars from our list that Consumer Reports likes
• Once we decide on a model we want to buy, I head to the web to do any final research and start the buying process
• While negotiating, I use a variety of tactics to get the best price possible
• When I pick up the car, I make sure they don't try to tack on needless costs
• I pay cash for the car -- and start the savings process all over again
• I drive the car until problems/issues arise (which is usually 7-10 years), and then start the process all over again

Now I know that you can save a good amount by buying used cars, but I'm not mechanically minded and don't want the time, hassle, potential "lemon" problem associated with buying a used car. But I know many of you do buy used and many more would like to. For all of you, Bankrate offers some thoughts on how to avoid buying a used car that's a lemon as follows:

• Get a CarFax report.
• Beware of cars with out-of-state titles.
• If you're looking at a 4-year-old Ford, for example, copy the vehicle identification number and take it to a Ford dealer and ask if they will run the service record through their computer.
• Beware of cars with no records of oil changes and other routine service.
• Look for evidence of major body or paint work.
• Pull up some of the carpeting and look for sediment or signs of mildew.
• Here's an oldie but goodie: Check for excessive wear in the rubber brake pedal pad.

They end with another bit of useful advice:

Lastly, if a deal on a used car seems too good to be true, it probably is. Even in a bad economy, no one is going to give away a car that's worth $6,000 for $3,000.

Ok, all you used car buying experts out there -- anything else to add?

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Five Times Haggling is Likely to Pay

Following in the spirit of my post titled Six Times It's Easy to Ask for a Discount, Smart Money has a piece on five times haggling is likely to pay. Here's their list as well as how you can save in each area:

1. Medical bills

• Doctors, labs and other medical providers are often willing to negotiate, with both uninsured patients and those whose insurance only covers a portion of their health expenses.

• Pay cash upfront. Doctors may offer you the same low rate that they charge insurance companies, if not an even cheaper fee if you agree to pay them at the time of the appointment.

• Compare costs. Check your provider's rates against those of other doctors in the area.

2. Retail stores

• Point out flaws. Floor models, sale items and products with visible damage (like a scuff or missing button) are ripe for discounts.

• Be flexible. Substantial flat-out discounts aren't always possible, so ask about extras such as free shipping or an extended warranty.

3. Cars

• Incite dealer competition. If you're buying a new car, collect quotes from local dealers.

• Assess market value. Buyers should use sites like Kelley and Edmunds to estimate the used car's value, then talk up the factors they don't like (i.e., not the ideal color, too many miles) to work down the price.

4. Financial aid

• Leverage competing offers.

• Ask for a reassessment if you encounter financial hardship.

5. Tag sales

• Go late. Early on in a sale, vendors have little incentive to haggle.

• Bring small bills. Exact change makes it easier to enforce your maximum price.

Here are a few thoughts from me:

1. Overall, good ideas/tips.

2. Many of the suggestions are the same or similar to those I listed in Six Times It's Easy to Ask for a Discount.

3. For details on how to save a bundle on a car purchase, check out Buying a Car Using the Web.

4. For a larger list of how to save money (as well as how to earn more), read How to Make Money and Save Money.

5. #5 is hit and miss. Yeah, if you go late you can likely get a great deal, but oftentimes there's nothing left that you want.

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