How To Retire 6 Months Every Year
(Page 6 of 22)
May/June 1970
By Irv Thomas
Set yourself a countdown period - say 30 days - at the end of which you'll just get rid of the car. Period! Again, think of the 2-1/2 to 3 months. The leap has got to be made, and the psychological value of the countdown is that you will be emotionally pacing yourself toward a point in time. When it arrives, you'll be ready.
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Depending on how addicted you are - how much you've actually been using the car these last few weeks - you may panic at this point, so it's best to be prepared for it. Line up some family, friends or neighbors who will agree to rush over at a moment's notice if some emergency need for a car develops. It won't. This is just your last minute emotional ploy to keep the habit. I have had only one-single occasion in the past eight months when I had to have a vehicle - to pick up some goods from a warehouse - and I rented a truck for a few hours. If an emergency does come up, there are always ways.
I am not trying to say that you won't be making certain sacrifices. Like you won't be able to go out to that wonderful place in the hills that serves a fantastic dinner for $6.00. So you'll save the price of two fantastic dinners in the hills. You won't be able to see that new movie on the other side of town that everyone's talking about. Funny thing about that sacrifice; you'll be surprised to find out you don't really care. Movies are like impulse purchases - you want them right now, but they're so very easy to live without.
My rule of thumb has been that if anything is worth travelling half way across town for, it's worth taking a bus for. It's amazing how discriminating my taste has become. When I talked about $1700 per year for the car itself, I didn't even mention the hundreds of dollars you'll probably save on things that really weren't worth bothering with anyhow. You'll come to realize that there are a lot of little addictions which support the big ones.
There are other dividends awaiting you, too. Suddenly you are no longer living in a metropolis, but in a community. Your basic horizons have pulled back in, and you begin to feel a closeness to the neighborhood you call home. Neighborhoods haven't vanished since your childhood, as you might have thought, your orientation has just overstepped their boundaries. You have `progressed' from the intimate seminar to the lecture hall, and now you can return to where relationships are once more on a human basis. You probably learned that on your daily walks: There actually are people along the way. Animals too. I used to have a regular morning chat with an Alaskan husky and a couple of squirrels on the way to work. Pity the prospect on the crosstown freeway!
ABOUT BICYCLE
A word on bicycles if they are so far back in your life that you can't conceive of a grown man riding one . . . or if you're afraid that you'd be confused by the geared variety: Bicycles are a popular form of transportation for all ages in many European countries. Most of Scandinavia boasts a ratio of one bicycle for every two inhabitants. This country was also going in that direction during the 1800's, before we became crazy about power and 'progress'. Get a copy of BICYCLING Magazine at any bicycle shop, or look up the local bicycle club or American Youth Hostel chapter. You'll find that there are a great many older people who ride bikes quite unselfconsciously. Gears are easy to learn and worth their weight in silver. Don't let them scare you off. If you are absolutely certain that you'll just be riding around the neighborhood and to work, a 3-speed will probably do. But if I were you, I wouldn't bet on any such certainty. A 10-speed bike is not just a 3-speed with 7 more gear ratios. It is as different from a 3-speed in performance and handling as a 3-speed is from a balloon-tire 1-speed bike. There are so many delightful things you can do with a touring bicycle that you may be cheating yourself if you don't go all the way: Long weekend rides in the country, camping vacations, hosteling in certain areas, air-freighting yourself and bicycle to faraway places, etc. All of these can be done with 3-gear models, but are easier and more enjoyable with a 10-speed bike. If you're in doubt, find a place you can rent or borrow one a few times. Frame size and seat adjustment can also make all the difference in the world, so check these carefully with someone who knows the answers before you come to any conclusions.
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