So I have been reading this new-to-me blog, Mr. Money Mustache. It’s like Dave Ramsey for responsible adults. And don’t get me wrong, I love me some Total Money Makeover – when we were in our 20’s, we totally did and thanks to that and debt settlement (take a look into how that works if you are in debt, as it makes things so much easier and more manageable) we became debt free, except for our house. BUT in our 30’s, the TMM style doesn’t really fit “us”, as we feel there are some good usage of loans and so although some of the principles were excellent, some weren’t realistic for our situation and lifestyle long term.
Last week my new podcast alert came around from Tim Ferris, author of “The Four Hour Work Week” spammy sounding title, but lots of work-at-home GOLD in that book. Any-who, this new podcast from Tim Ferris featured someone I had never heard of…Mr. Money Mustache. And now I am slightly (okay completely) obsessed.
>>Retire early? Hells yes, lets do it. (Give this a listen and read his blog…you will see how I ended up riding my bike through town to run my errands.)<< I ride my bike pretty frequently out here in my area, its pseudo-rural. I ride for fun, and fitness is a sweet side effect in moving my body in a way I enjoy. After scouring the MMM information, I decided to give his lifestyle a try and instead of driving my 11 mpg giant SUV with 1 passenger on my errands, since they were within the 10 mile radius...I rode my bike. How green am I? YEAS! About half of this journey was on a bike path beside a train track, kind of sketchy. If I had to do the whole thing on the road I would be a nervous wreck. Two miles or so of the journey was "in town" with few sidewalks (mostly in disrepair) and lots of TRAFFIC, and a wee stretch thru suburban housing neighborhood. Fun right? For sure, and full of lessons. Here are my major take-aways:
- Stroller Moms and Judgey-Eyes. I had a good giggle-snort when I passed some stroller moms out for their fitness walk. I mentioned on Instagram that in my town (deep in the heart of Texas) generally if you are biking thru town with a backpack instead of driving a jacked pickup, fast Benz, or monster luxury SUV, you are likely homeless.At first, I didn’t think much of passing these Stroller Moms until they quite literally shirked away from me as if I were a scary criminal mugger as I slowed down and said “good morning!” I have to admit, it activated me a little bit and I am generally quite “zero f#*k$” about what others think. And I may have done the math in my head (fitness watch, bike, phone, shoes, special pants, etc.) thought to myself, “uhm my bike and gear costs more than your mini-van.” But thankfully I kept it to myself, cleared it, and got back to my adventure.
- Gangsta Grannys. To think my biggest fear was getting mowed over by some person texting and driving and in reality the only close call was a gangsta granny! I clearly had the little “walking” sign at the crosswalk and she looked me dead in the eye over the steering wheel of her old Honda CRV and hammered through the intersection. She nearly got me too! She was probably 80 years old and hard core gangsta AF.
- Epic Feelings. Okay, I probably saved a solid 40 minutes by combining errands and working out. I also saved about $2.10 today on gas and lets say another $5 on wear-and-tear on my ride (according to what the feds say about mileage). I am not super frugal (okay–you got me I am NOT frugal at all) but I do love a challenge, and how much can I save challenge seems fun, so look out for more of that.But you know what? It feels pretty ah-mazing to step outside of my comfort zone. I feel proud of myself, and I will for sure try this again. I feel like marching (err biking) to city hall and letting them know we need to make space for people to cycle and make it possible!
I would love to issue a challenge to you… just one time this coming week…if the weather is nice, and you have an errand less than 10 miles away, try taking your bike! Come back and let me know how it went!
Do you want to listen instead of read? Check out the Podcast below: