Mandatory retirement at age 57, so I have to save more ambitiously than most even if I plan to start a 2nd career later.

It's a commuter bus
.
Holds me and about 50 others. It's an hour commute from a suburb about 30 miles outside downtown Houston. Some recline and sleep. Others like myself will either read, work, or listen to music until the bus starts dropping off people downtown.

With discounts (pre-tax money and 1 free commute for every 10), it comes out to about $5.80 per day. It would take me about two gallons of gas daily to drive a personal vehicle. That already exceeds the bus expense without even tabulating the parking cost, vehicle maintenance, and whatever the extra insurance rate would be for the "mileage from home to work" calculation they do.

The other non-monetary benefits of taking the commuter bus is I get time for personal reading. Currently reading Nassim Taleb's newest.

This post was edited on 12/6/12 at 4:27 pm

3 ...

Report Post

Posted by TheHiddenFlask

The Welsh red light district

Member since Jul 2008

18384 posts

Posted on 12/6/12 at 6:13 pm to Willie Stroker

Okay. I've just seen the dregs of society that hang around the bus stops in downtown (when I'm brave enough to vanture outside of the tunnels for lunch) and I imagined the bus to be filled with those types.

That actually doesn't sound bad at all. How late do those buses run? That might actually make the suburbs of Houston more appealing to me.

1 ...

Report Post

Posted by cwill

Member since Jan 2005

54753 posts

Posted on 12/6/12 at 8:01 pm to Willie Stroker

quote:
Holds me and about 50 others. It's an hour commute from a suburb about 30 miles outside downtown Houston. Some recline and sleep. Others like myself will either read, work, or listen to music until the bus starts dropping off people downtown.

With discounts (pre-tax money and 1 free commute for every 10), it comes out to about $5.80 per day. It would take me about two gallons of gas daily to drive a personal vehicle. That already exceeds the bus expense without even tabulating the parking cost, vehicle maintenance, and whatever the extra insurance rate would be for the "mileage from home to work" calculation they do.

Sounds like motherfricking hell to me....it's why I live in the Heights.

What the hell do you do that requires you to retire at 57?

1 ...

Report Post

Posted by jso0003

Member since Jun 2009

5170 posts

Posted on 12/7/12 at 12:03 am to Willie Stroker

quote:
With discounts (pre-tax money and 1 free commute for every 10), it comes out to about $5.80 per day. It would take me about two gallons of gas daily to drive a personal vehicle. That already exceeds the bus expense without even tabulating the parking cost, vehicle maintenance, and whatever the extra insurance rate would be for the "mileage from home to work" calculation they do.

You don't enjoy activity based costing at all do you?