My Biggest Financial Mistake

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I think people need to talk about the opportunity cost of car ownership more often. This video is essentially about my experience buying something that I couldn't technically afford and the hedonic adaptation that ensued... Because of this (along with recent changes in our situation) we've decided to go car free!

🍞 A few breadcrumbs of things that inspired this video:

📸 Find me on instagram: @danieltitchener
🐦 Find me on twitter: @dantitchener

⏱ Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
1:02 Backstory
2:04 The Numbers
3:14 The Opportunity Cost
4:48 5 Tips For Car Ownership
7:30 Conclusion

This video was sponsored by Ridge Wallet

[DanielTitchener]

Big thanks to Ridge for supporting the channel and making videos like this possible! Here’s the site if you

[KBGDGT]

Man I’ve seen people who pay £500 a month on car finance for a nice BMW (before all those other car expenses) and yet they are basic earners. All for the status. It’s madness dude.

[donseaux]

Great video! Amazing advice and what makes this video even more pleasing to watch is the placement of everything in the background and color tones. Small details make a big difference!

[rianamohamed]

Daniel, you always give such great advice. Im very much the same, i never do debt, not even when purchasing my home. Interest on a bond alone would result in me having been able to buy 3 x my home. I recently was forced to buy a second car for my son, and realised wgat a huge expense it is, with gas and insurance, 😪 but Fortunately he is working now and takes care of those. All the best with your savings mission. Plz always share them with us.

[mrturkey]

“If you buy things you do not need, soon you will have to sell things you need.” Warren Buffet

[bad_writer]

Noticed the Vancouver poster on your wall. Greetings from there! Nice channel!

[Skatethencreateco]

As a year-round bike commuter, here are my recommendations:

look for bikes with full wheel fenders, water gets picked up very easily by wheels.

If you can, get Panniers so you minimize sweating on your back (unless you're carrying a laptop, I would use a backpack then)

go for at least 35c wide tires for comfort and durability (If you're looking for strong tires I've used Vittoria Randonneurs most of my bike life and they've worked really well.

waterproof socks: Sealskinz

Waterproof pants jacket: Showerpass (I've used Chrome Industries for waterproof backpacks and waterproof jackets as well)

Handlebar covers (great for protecting your hands from wind/cold/snow/water) (would def recommend if you're traveling at least 30 minutes each way or if you get very cold winters) I would check out Rock Bros (more affordable) or Bar Mitts

Strong Bike Lights: Cygolite if you're looking for USB rechargeable and Orfos Lights if you're okay with carrying a power bank.

Bike bags: I would check out Roadrunner Bags for handlebar bags or top tube bags or saddlebags
My Favorite is the Burrito Supreme handlebar bag

[pwblackmore]

Daniel - you've posted a helluva lot of good videos about interior designs, which I've followed. Just prior to this one, I watched your vid on early retirement, and just had to pass it on to my steppie. However, now you've moved to Vancouver (welcome to Canada, eh) and the West End, I'm sure you'll be able to live by your maxim of being car-free. I lived in Vancouver for 10 years and never needed a car. If I did - eg the trip to the Falls at Squamish - I rented one for the day. I cycled along the Seawall to work - or anywhere else close by. You may have to wait a while until your baby grows, but a child-seat on your bikes is do-able in a couple years. (If Vancouver gets too hectic - I wouldn't want to live there now - come to the Comox Valley! We've everything a big city has in a small one)

[lybanhamar]

Thanks for sharing this topic.
I recently moved to Germany from the Netherlands and indeed it's a car country here, so life is pretty much around having a car.
Such mentality doesn't really exist where I'm from and I didn't had a car, instead I cycled to work every day which is about 7km commute and had a discount membership for public transport. I ways had a rain short and an all weather jacket with me just incase it would start to rain.
I would definitely recommend you to stick to the principle of cycling as much as possible. Make sure to get an App to monitor local weather and some good music with you. As a benefit you will feel great and balanced throughout the day since you're excercising for free. Man I miss that 😔
Cheers.

[lowwastehighmelanin]

Yeah I was in an almost fatal crash in 2019 so when I got my accident settlement, I bought a secondhand car outright (mine's now almost 15 years old) with an already installed sound system that I can modify with a roof rack and tow bar eventually to haul things. In the United States it's not really practical to not have a car but I got the least expensive one I could with the basic needs I wanted met and it's been a wonderful little errand runner.

[sidharthsundaramoorthy]

Please post more frequently, longing to watch more of you

[kevjapan]

I can totally relate!! I got a 65VW Bug back when I was 16 and dumped tons of time and money into it. It was fun and I can't turn back back time but I gotta say now I would never ever dream of owning a car again. When I was 19 I moved to Vancouver and lived both downtown and near the Skytrain so a car become a want not a necessity. Then I moved to Japan which not only has an incredible transportation system it also totally suited for biking and walking. If cars are your thing go for it! But seriously if you can do without it give it a go! It could change your life!

[shirleyburnham]

I’m new here and loving your tips and advise going to really consciously try and think of ways to save x

[NomadeDigital]

I just moved into the city and considering getting rid of my car entirely and replacing it with renting when I need one or a subscription to a shared car pool, you didn't address it in the video but my main problem with my car is the mental stress it causes me. Repairs, getting up to code, cleaning, insurance, it's mentally taxing and if renting is as expensive or a bit more, I'll happily trade for a rented car.

[djs]

Nice video Daniel I was travelling 130 miles a day commuting for work, had a lovely 5 series BMW, but constantly working or driving to and from work. Changed jobs, now 30 minutes walk or 8 minutes cycle. Much better pace of life and more family time. We still have a car as I think you can put a price on just being able to jump in rhe car and drive off for the day (out of lockdoen anyway!!)

[techno_eclipse]

My wife and I sold her Buick Encore in June to carvana, they paid 14k for it and we had 14.4k left on it. Paid one car payment and we were done with it, now we have my Toyota Corolla that we are planning on keeping for at least 7 years and the one car life is simple. We live out in the sticks so we need a car to get to anything like groceries or to go to the gym. But we’ve been on one car for about 8 months now and we certainly don’t have the need for a second car at the moment. Maybe when we start going back into the office or when we have kids, but for now one car is amazing

[Simon-qxcc]

As a Car lover I don´t think I'm able to completely quit owning a Car. Still I totally agree with many points you made in this Video. Especially If as a buyer you really analyze the market and dive into the topic you can buy cars that won't have significant value loss over the years. That still leaves you with fuel, insurance and maintenance cost. But if you buy a great used car you can still reduce the monthly cost quite a bit.

[skirwan]

A lot of great points. There's a ton of caveats as well though. Where you live and what you have available factors in heavily. If you live in a city no car is almost a no brainer compared to a rural or remote setting with less access to public transport and larger distances between things. Weather (see snow) and what you need to transport (kids, groceries, DIY materials). Biking is great but you might have to wear a rain slick or change clothes at work. If something comes up (emergency/change of plans) you're at the mercy of public transport, taxis, friends, etc. Don't use studies for how much you save, use YOUR actual lifestyle, patterns, distances, and costs. Don't assume you'll accept giving up things you used to be able to do with a car.

And yeah you should always temper long term finances with luxury items (cars). But in the end you're not taking the money with you either. If you enjoy cars and driving then that's a luxury worth spending money on, just don't be myopic with your finances.

Motorcycles are another alternative similar to bikes but e-bikes fit in somewhere in between. Just don't fall for the myth that they're less dangerous than motorcycles- just like motorcycles the biggest threat is other cars, particularly those who don't see you- and most people only wear a half helmet while biking, nowhere close to whats recommended for gear on a motorcycle. Also less attention is paid to safety gear like neon and reflectors and lights on e-bikes. And of course obey the rules of the road, don't blow stop signs or traffic lights just because you're not in a 'regulated vehicle' like a car/motorcycle.

Good luck with your experiment. Look forward to seeing how it turns out. I only put on about 3k miles on my truck a year since i work at home but I paid it off 9 years ago and my insurance and registration costs are only about 600$ a year (US). My truck is 11 years old and only has 40k miles on it. Not having a car payment while STILL having access to a car has been great. I also have a motorcycle that I put about 1, 500 miles on each riding season - most of that is joy riding however. Cost of ownership for my truck has been about (36000$ New price with family discount from grandfather who worked at Ford- minus cost of trade in which was paid off Mustang GT (2006) at 17, 000$) and gas has been about 7500$ in gas, 1000$ in maintenance and 700/year insurance so roughly $53k over 11 years and that goes down each year I keep it and it doesn't have issues (none in sight). So ~4, 800 a year. And I think it's worth about 15k-18k on trade in right now in great condition. Either way per month ~400$ TCO right now. In 5 years from now it might be as low as 300/month with current trends.

[gwl]

My experience is very similar to yours. I owned my Lexus 2013 IS 350 from new and loved every minute of driving it. But the trouble was, I lived and worked downtown in close proximity and only used it about once a week. I took great care of the car, and when you tally up all the costs/km, including car washes just because it was getting dusty, it was getting expensive. I justified it on the basis that the car was fully paid off, but the mileage was low. Now I’ve had to relocate overseas, and was forced to sell the car which I love.. Thankfully, I got very good value for the sale, but I enjoy the new financial freedom, and the reality is I prefer to commute or walk everywhere anyway.

[jeremythompson]

Great thought-provoking video! What kind of bike do you have?