This one runs on money and makes you fat.

This one runs on fat and saves you money.

I tried a similar car-share program when I lived in Madison, WI but found that it couldn’t meet my needs. There were too few cars spaced too far apart to be convenient.

The Zipcar scene in Washington is much, much better. With hundreds of cars to choose from, many in close proximity to a Metro station, getting to and from a car is a breeze. Reservations have been plentiful as well, with multiple cars available at any given time when I want one.

The Zipcar process is pretty slick: you pay a one-time fee to join the service (for me, $25) then rent cars by the hour. The price depends on the model you want (they have everything from a Smart Car or Prius to pickup trucks and BMWs) in the range of $6.50 – $13. The casual Zipcar user also pays an annual fee (currently $50) that is waived for more frequent users who commit to a minimum monthly spend. I know I will be using Zipcar for work travel at least a few times a month so I signed up for the $75/month plan.

Reservations are done online or using a very slick iPhone app when you’re on the go. Once you arrive at the car during your reservation time, your Zipcar card unlocks the vehicle and away you go. I’ve rented a car for three trips so far and each time it’s worked perfectly.

Most of us aren’t used to paying for a car by the hour so that fee may seem high. When you factor in all that you’re getting, however, it starts to look like a real bargain. There’s the obvious stuff like the capital cost of the car itself and all maintenance/repairs. You’re covered for insurance (with a $500 deductible if you’re at fault) and the cost of parking the Zipcar. Add in the fuel costs (each car comes with a fuel card if you need to refill) and it starts too look like a real bargain.

The secret behind Zipcar is raising the capital utilization rate for their fleet of cars. Most car owners use their car for maybe 10% of the day, while it sits idle for the other 90%. The typical car ownership costs in the U.S. are $400-600 per month. You’d have to use that car for 12 hours a day to come close to the hourly rate Zipcar charges.

Of course, the Zipcar scheme won’t work for every city or every driver. It relies on a critical mass of users and is buoyed by an available mass transit system. But for urban dwellers with infrequent car needs, it can’t be beat. I’m thrilled to be giving up car ownership and relying on the Metro, Zipcar, and my feet for my transportation needs.

And finally, the sales pitch : if you are interested in trying Zipcar, use the link below. You’ll get $25 in free driving credits and I’ll get $25 for the referral.
Join Zipcar and get $25 in free driving!

Dare I suggest we consider an alternative? There’s so much emphasis on buying that I need to give voice to the alternative: renting.

To illustrate, let’s walk through each example above.

Housing – It’s long been cited as the American Dream : owning your own home. But if you dig a little deeper, the reality isn’t quite such a happy dream. In the post-war period, almost all home purchases are done using a home mortgage. Down payments generally make up 20% of the purchase, with the remaining 80% financed by the bank and repaid over 30 years (with interest, of course). Do you really “own your own home” if you hold a mortgage? An easy test: stop paying your mortgage for a few months and you will soon find out who really owns your home!

In what could best be described as a good idea long past its welcome, home ownership is heavily subsidized by the federal government in the form of tax credits. All the interest payments for a home mortage are deducted from taxable income. Over a 30 year, $250,000 mortgage, interest payments could total $280,000. Assuming a 30% tax rate, your fellow taxpayers just handed you a check for $84,000. (Now we know where to find the true welfare queens.) Factor in the number of outstanding mortgages in the U.S. and you can start to see we’re talking about real money!

To make matters worse, the brave legislators in Washington have reacted to the downturn in the housing market by throwing even more money into that financial black hole. They’re currently offering an additional $8,000 subsidy for first-time home buyers and are discussing expanding that to $15,000 for anybody. Madness!

What’s wrong with renting? I’m all for it! I would rather not add a massive mortgage debt to my personal balance sheet. Rental properties come in all flavors, from apartments to condos to houses. No one has to know that you pay a landlord instead of a bank each month. And it sure is comforting to know that when the water heat breaks or the roof springs a leak it’s the landlord and not you who’s responsible for repairs.

My critics will counter that “if you’re paying rent you’re just throwing your money away”. When compared to the costs of owning a home, renting is often favorable from a financial perspective. Only a small portion of your mortgage payment actually goes towards building equity. The rest is taken out as interest, taxes, and fees. Even the home equity is a mediocre investment at best–a house never earns money (like the stock of a company) nor is the capital invested (like a bond). Homes are also incredibly illiquid investments, requiring many months (and many more fees) to sell. In short, it’s not the slam dunk investment that charletan real estate agents would want you to believe.

[To be continued]

Hack.

The ingredients: 

• Small LED flashlight 
• Old bicycle innertube
• 3 medium zip-ties

I cut a length of rubber from an old innertube (you do save your old innertubes, right?) and wrapped it around the base of the flashlight. This would help to increase friction to make it stay put and protect my fancy bicycle from scratches. It also provided a bit of a shim to angle the light appropriately. I placed the rubber-wrapped light where my stem meets handlebars. Finally, I fastened the light securely with zip-ties so it wouldn’t fall off when I hit a pothole going 30. 

In no more than 5 minutes, for no more than $5 in parts (all of which I had lying around the house [thanks to Chris for zip-ties]) I had a perfectly adequate headlight and I was off. Hurray! 

 

One of the common reasons people like personal automobiles (and especially SUVs) is the convenience of transporting stuff like groceries. Today was a warm day in Milwaukee so I decided to make a trip to the store with only my bike. Just how much could a bicycle with two medium panniers carry? Let’s find out: 

Here’s my ride all loaded down. It handles surprisingly well with a full load. 

Here’s a view to give some depth to the panniers.

And here’s the haul I was able to carry. Not bad if I do say so myself!

This fits with another ongoing tadfad: no plastic. It may sound a little crazy, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Frankly, I don’t think we really understand what plastic does when it’s repeatedly heated in a microwave, sent through a dishwasher, and exposed to UV sunlight. I’m replacing the plastic in my life with wood, glass, and metal. So this lunch kit is a perfect fit.

They tell me it’s popular in India. Neat!

I had my first roadside flat today, but fortunately I had all the necessary equipment to fix it. Surprisingly, it only took about 10 minutes to get back on the bike with a new tube. (I guess I just earned my bike commuter street cred?)

The biking itself is getting easier and faster. I can now consistently make the commute in 30 minutes, which compares very favorably to driving by car. I’ve noticed that I’m eating about 1000 more calories on the days I ride, but I suppose this is in line with the energy I’m using.

Final verdict : bike commuting is easy! fun! inexpensive! green!  You should try it too.

This history is why I was so excited to read in The Urban Homestead that starting a sourdough starter is really quite simple. Just combine flour and warm water, feed it daily, and within a week or two you’ll be making bread and pancakes that will impress all.

I opted for some [needlessly expensive] organic unbleached flour from Whole Foods but saved money on the container by hitting up the weekend rummage sales.

Today marks day 1 of my sourdough starter experiment. Let’s hope this tadfad lasts long enough for at least a few loaves!

Initial thoughts on bike commuting:

1. It’s shorter (by distance) and only slightly longer (by time). Since I’m taking a more direct, as-the-crow-flies route (as opposed to the highway), i’m shaving off a couple miles from the commute. Plus, since I can use the bike/curb lane and generally don’t need to wait for traffic, I can maneuver much quicker.
2. Office buildings need showers. I got pretty sweaty riding home. That’s fine if I have a shower to jump into, but at work I’ll need to use the gym’s shower facilities. My frustration is that the people who run our gym refuse to entertain the concept of bike commuters using only the showers for a reduced rate. (I’m not planning to pump iron while at the office.)
3. Very pleasant way to start/end the day. Unlike car commuting, when I have to constantly be thinking about traffic and watching for bad drivers, bicycling is very relaxing. I’m still watching for bad drivers, but I found my mind much clearer. I think it has something to do with the exercise component.
4. Total gasoline used : 0 gallons!
5. You should try it! I used to think it was too far, too many busy roads, too this, too that. Unless you try it, you’ll never know if you like it.

I’ve been dabbling in the GTD world for a long while, with mixed results. Given my interest in web2.0, you’d think I would be a power user of some online GTD apps like SimpleGTD. Not so. As useful as these things are, I find that they suffer from a major handicap : I’m not online 24 hours a day. (Until I get my iPhone2.0, but that’s another day).

Most users would simply compensate by keeping a paper copy with them at all times and syncing when online. This was simply too complex for me. Instead, I’ve been using good old fashioned paper & pen. Sadly, even this requires a bit of optimizing.

I wasn’t happy with notebooks, as I couldn’t add/remove pages. I didn’t want to carry a 3-ring binder, either. What to do? Rollabind!

This technology isn’t new, but I think it’s pretty slick. Using small plastic discs and a special hole puncher, I now have the best of both worlds : a portable notebook that gracefully allows adding/removing pages. Splendid!

Not stopping there, I downloaded the D*I*Y Hipster PDA and David Seah’s compact calendar, remixed Benjamin Franklin’s measures of virtue, threw in a SWOT chart, and now have a custom GTD solution that works great.

Always one to share, here is a PDF of the pages I use. Feel free to remix and use as you see fit (credit goes to the above sources). If you’re interested in the rollabind system, I’m a proud owner of the special hole puncher and would gladly help you get started.