Createing My 15 Minute Citty

Background

There is a concept that people have come to talk about that has some controversy. Some say that it is about government control. Others say that it is about being financial savvy.

Talking about living in a 15 minute city. You can research the cons for this. However, I have intentionally made changes in my life that would allow for this to be possible. What are those changes you ask?

Now with my set up, my 15 minute city means that it is 15 minutes when using a car. Now this is not ideal, but because the city I live, Montgomery, is like many of other cities that do not have sufficient public transit nor does it have sidewalks that connect from one neighborhood to the other. Do not even get me started on why you have to cross a stroad to get to the grocery store where there are no sidewalks nor crosswalks.

Time Management

What are the places that you go to the most? For the majority, that would be home, work, and probably the grocery store. For me, it would be home, work, and daycare for the kids. Based on how the city I live in is set up, work is within a 15 minute drive from home. Sometimes it takes longer than 15 minutes to get to work, but that's usually because somebody or people have collided with each other on the interstate, thus causing a traffic jam.

The less time it takes for you to get from one point to another, the more time that you have to do other things. Like being with family or getting more items on your to do list completed.

Financial

When you drive less, you'll spend less money on car maintenance. Less driving, means that you vehicle will last longer. Thus you would not need to buy another one sooner, unless you choose to do so.

When I need food for dinner, I can stop by the grocery store that is on the way headed home. Since this is the case, you reduce the amount of food wasted because you got what was needed when it was needed. The alternative, which is more expensive is buying a lot of food at once. Then you have to eat it within a given time frame or else it will go bad. Food waste is one of the easiest ways to "throw away money".

As things continue to get more expensive to inflation and corporate greed, we can easily save money by eliminating waste and reducing commuting expenses.

Also with this concept, if there is a store that is in the city, but they offer delivery of the item, that item could be delivered to my home instead of me going to pick it up. When doing delivery and there is no delivery fee, you now have the item comes to you instead of you going to get it. Further reducing the amount of money spent on commuting and time used.

Caveats

Now there are things that you may have to change in order to make your 15 minute city work for you. For me, that does mean occasionally shopping at stores that I would not normally go to.

What I found is that buying diapers from Wal-Mart is cheaper than buying them from Winn-Dixie. However, I hate going in Wal-Mart. Thus I have restored to ordering items online and they either be delivered to the house or I pick them up. I'm still able to get the items that I need, and be able to stay within the 15 minutes area.

I have also found that I am less likely to go to a specific store because of where it is located. There are some parts of town, that people tell me about. In response I mention that I had no idea because I rarely go over there and they are shocked.

Conclusion

As things currently stand, I have not noticed major differences in my finances. I have noticed that I am able to get more things done in a single trip by running errands before or after work, that does not have me driving all over town.

Think about how you can do the same where you live. Now, if you live in a rural area, then this may be less possible for you to accomplish.