Those rare occasions when I happen to venture out into morning or evening rush-hour traffic are when I most appreciate being self-employed and working from home. All those frustrated angry people honking their horns, risking life and limb to zoom past me on my right just to move up 3 cars and get stuck again...it always strikes me as so futile and sad. I'm thankful that I have to waste my time in that mess only a few times a month instead of everyday.
That hour or so every day that I don't spend driving adds up to a lot of time. It's almost like having an extra half day to a full day every week to spend on learning, working, or leisure.
Most of the corporate stiffs I know who make about the same amount of money as me drive nicer cars and live in nicer houses though. They go out to dinner at nice places more often then me and in general spend more profligately. They have the luxury of living pay-check to pay-check, which is a luxury I just can't afford. What if business conditions change? What if I lose a big client tomorrow? What if I get a big contract and have to forgo paying myself for a few months to pay the up-front costs?
Because of this uncertainty, I feel that every extra dollar above living expenses has to be saved and invested to generate additional income streams, and therefore I have to live without the material goods that many of my peers enjoy.
This is a sacrifice that is easy to make however. I don't need a fancy car because I only drive once or twice a week anyway. (Sometimes I go so long without driving that my battery dies.) Who needs to take expensive vacations when on any afternoon that the weather is good I can just grab my surfboard and walk down to the beach? And, who needs to go out to expensive restaurants when I have the extra time to prepare a gourmet meal myself almost every day?
