Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Today was one of those worse-than-usual traffic days in Washington.  I left my house on time for once and was happy NOT to hear about any of my usual roadways on the traffic report.  It wasn’t until I hit the GW Memorial Parkway that I heard on the radio that it was “closed” at 123 due to an overturned vehicle.

The GW Parkway is one of my favorite things in Washington—maybe because I actually dislike the D.C. Metro area quite a bit.  It’s not usually as trafficy and it gives a gorgeous view of the river.  As I sat in my car, practically parked on the parkway, I thought about my options.  First, I could wait it out because they had to clear the accident eventually; second, I could try to get off at 123 and try to find my way to work from there (this would have been slightly tricky, but doable); third, I could drive over the grass that divides the two sides of the parkway and backtrack to 495.  The grass that serves as a median strip is about 2-3 inches above the road; it’s where cops park when setting up speed traps, where disabled vehicles move, and where speeders pull off when caught by said cops.  It was also quite muddy by this time.

Nervously, I waited until I HAD to make a decision; I approached a spot where I couldn’t drive in the grass.  So, right before it, I made sure things were clear on the other side of the parkway and did it.  I drove over the grass, made it to 495, and it took extra time (and 16 freaking extra miles), but I made it to work less than an hour late.

Thank God for my SUV; I think a smaller car would have gotten stuck in the mud.  I felt myself stick a little, but I knew that I could use my 4-wheel drive, if necessary.  What’s funny, though, is if I’d taken the Greenway this morning, I would have missed the accident, been to work early, and not wasted as much gas.  That would have been worth the $3.00.

Living where I do, I have to take the Dulles Toll Road commuting each day, 50 cents getting on and 75 cents getting off, for a one-way total of $1.25.  I drive about 3 1/2 miles to get to Route 28, then take 28 to the toll road.  On most days.

Twice this week I’ve been late enough leaving my apartment to have to take the Dulles Greenway which turns into the toll road.  Before I moved out to Ashburn, I had no idea what the Greenway was, or how it was different from the toll road; I quickly learned.  The Dulles Greenway is a privately-owned toll road, where a one-way trip costs $4.25, so I avoid it whenever possible, even though it is much faster.  If I leave at 6:45am, I’ll only save about eight minutes by taking the 65mph Greenway;  if I leave at 6:55, I generally save about 15 minutes, which is the difference between being late and not.

I noticed, though, that I got much better gas mileage this week.  Normally I average between 17-19 mpg commuting, and have gotten as good as 22 mpg highway (I know it’s horrible and I’d do better without an SUV, but I HATE driving small cars).  By the time I get gas this afternoon, I’ll have driven about 280 miles instead of about 225 (my gas tank is rather small; I usually don’t fill up past 14 gallons).  I think that this is due in large part to my two Greenway excursions (totalling an extra $6), and one afternoon that I met up with a friend for a few hours and drove home without any traffic.

Anyway, I just saved about 3 gallons of gas at $3.59/gallon near my apartment.  So, I’ve saved about $5.  This wouldn’t work every week;  in no way do I think that if I took the Greenway five mornings a week, I’d save five gallons of gas.  Maybe I could save about 3 gallons.  So if gas really skyrockets, it might become cost-effective, after all.

This morning was not the first that I saw a Loudoun County Transit bus on my way to work, but it was the first that led me to actually looking it up online and then looking up Metro fares and things to determine if it would be more cost effective for me to bus/Metro/bus into work than to drive.  Here’s what I figured out:

First, I have averaged my gas+tolls expenses per week to be $107.50.  This includes commuting five days a week, one trip to my best friend’s place, and one trip either to my parents’ house or my boyfriend’s.  Also about ten miles leeway for shopping, if necessary.

Round-trip Loudoun bus will be $4/day.
West Falls Church Metro to Pentagon will be $6/day.
Bus from Pentagon to my work is FREE!
Weekly gas ($40)+tolls($5)

Hypothetical Weekly total:  $95

Weekly difference:  $12.50

Now, $12.50/week or $50/month would be nice.  But I’ve heard that you should take your payrate per hour and compare the money you’re saving versus the time that you’re losing.

I’m estimating that I will add two hours a day to my commute in this scenario, based on scheduled times, average wait times, and the times I arrive at and leave work in the morning.  Dividing $12.50 by ten hours a week comes out to $1.25/an hour.  Since I make (before taxes and all) over $20/hour, I have to determine that this isn’t worth it for me.

Back to the drawing board.

When I was apartment searching last summer, there were some things that I swore I would not compromise on; I would not live in a first floor apartment, or in low-income housing, or anywhere that I didn’t feel safe.  I didn’t need lots of amenities or even a lot of space.  I did want a one-bedroom instead of a studio because I’m quite messy and needed a place to keep my mess.

I was trying to keep rent to about $1000/month.  So I started searching.  I started with a free Apartment Guide from the grocery store and marked everything in my price range.  Then I went online and looked up information.  By the time that I had crossed off all the low-income housing, I was freaking out; I had only a handful of options.  Even after expanding my search to apartments.com, rent.com, and Craig’s List, I was still down to almost nothing.  I also was running out of time to get a place before my current lease ended. 

After visiting a few places, I finally found something.  It seems like it’s 30 miles from everything in the world.  It’s definitely that far from my job.  I live in Loudoun County, in a third floor, 867 sq. ft. unit that I love.  Even though it is the largest one bedroom they have, it was the cheapest one available at that time.  The base rent is $930/month, but there are mandatory add-ons.  For $30/month I get valet trash pick up, and for $49/month I get cable, neither of which I need.  Last year I used an antenna for service and while it was touch and go, it got my roommate and me through.  So I’m paying about $1019/month when monthly fees are added in. 

I love living there because the town still has a slight small town feel to it, even though it’s expanding like crazy.  Nothing’s perfect, though; I have to take the Dulles Toll Road to work and home which costs me $2.50/day.  If I’m running late for work, I take the Dulles Greenway which costs $3.00 extra, so once every week or two, I waste $3.00 taking it to the Toll Road.  Now that gas has risen so high, I’m averaging more than $350/month in gas alone and when you add the tolls, it’s more than $400/month just for driving. 

My lease is ending in September and I’ll have to decide (in about June or July) whether it’s worth it to move closer to work and pay higher rent and moving fees, but less in travelling expenses?  Will it be any less, anyway, if the gas prices go higher?