If I had to sum up my expenses for August in one sentence it would be: the bloody Vespa again! Here are the -ugly- numbers.
Income: 2 338,44 euro
Expenses: 2 016,10 euro
Savings: 322,34 euro
Income is a bit higher because I had my birthday which means presents! Well actually only one from the parents as we have all but eliminated the back and forward giving of presents. I have all that I need and if I – rarely – want something I usually buy it.
Expenses blew up to the highest of the year. Above 2.000 euro thanks to …
Yep, the Vespa.
Last time the shop apparently did not solve the root cause of the coolant problem. So three weeks later the issue reared it’s ugly head once more and back to the shop it was. For another 620 euro bill. Most of it work time. I can’t say I am overjoyed with this as they should have found the issue the first time around. There is the possibility that the second issue developed after them fixing the water pomp but the Vespa made the same ticking sound it did after the first maintenance than it did before the maintenance. So I really think they missed the root cause, fixed the water pomp which was probably a symptom of the underlying issue (a crack in cylinder housing) and this time had to do a lot of the work again to fix the real problem. With me paying twice!
And a skilled mechanic appears not to come cheap.
Honestly, these maintenance bills have taken a bit away of the joy of driving the Vespa. But only a bit. Here is hoping for many carefree months of riding it and getting my joy back!
The lessons I take away from this are:
In the short time I am going to look for a ‘guy’ who not only will work on the Vespa at a lower hourly rate I am paying now but is also willing to teach me how to do most of the work myself. Thus, hopefully avoiding other big maintenance bills in the future.
Long term I will most definitely build myself an electrical speed monster of a bicycle! Building it myself will insure I know every little detail of it and be capable of doing all the maintenance myself. It is going to cost me time off course (most things are a trade off between money and time + effort) but I should pick up some valuable skills that will also serve me well after FIRE.
Now some people claim that a 13,7% savings rate is still descend but let’s be honest, this is the FIRE crowd. Even my usual 25% savings rate is at the low end of the spectrum. So high time for me to return to more acceptable savings. Half September I will have my partying behind me and then it will be a 100% focus on finance and health for the rest of the year.
Expenses happen on your vehicle. That’s why it sucks owning them. I’m sorry you were stuck with that heavy bill. But look at it this way, that should be 620 more Euros in your pocket next month. Then watch the savings rate jump! Thanks for the detailed summary.
Bert
Yes, but it was the second month in a row for the same problem. And guess what, the exact same problem showed it’s ugly head once again yesterday! Sigh …
Sell the Vespa and get an ebike 😉
Building an e-bike is the idea! Building it so I can do the maintenance myself!! But I need money for that and it is tough saving it when you get hit with 600 maintenance fee every fucking month!