Cost Of Convenience

Hi friends,

Today has been pretty hectic because it is almost at the end of my travel and I just had a hit of realization that my time here will end. As such, loads of things that haven't been done yet must be compressed into whatever time that is left.

As a result of such hastefulness, it has created a daily journey that often involves ad hoc detours because eureka moments often comes at the eleventh hour. Having heavily reliant on public transportation, these ah hoc detours has caused a lot of unexpected cost. It has, to a point, that I have maxed out the daily quota which automatically turned my pass into a daily pass. I'm very thankful for this auto switch to daily pass because if I were to just continue with those detours, the cost would rack up to almost twice as the daily pass. 

This incident has got me thinking, the calculations I made for the transportation cost, with specific destinations, was definitely cheaper than the daily pass. Further calculations also shows that it is much cheaper than the weekly pass. However, it has left me with little room to wiggle with. The assumptions made was limited for one travel destinations daily only. With that as the base of my assumptions, any detours made would compromise the overall transportation cost. As a result, if I ever maxed out my transportation cost to a daily pass for more than three times, it would change the cost-benefit analysis to value the weekly pass instead. This would certainly defeat the purpose of choosing the pay-as-you go method. 

So this whole incident has got me thinking about the cost of convenience. If in the first place I opted for the weekly pass, I wouldn't have to get all worked up with those unexpected detours. Which route I take? At what time (peak hours or non peak hours)? How many stops and at which zones? Using which vehicle methods? All those questions would be something I wouldn't have to think about because I'll have unlimited access to all of them. Thus, to attain that state of mind where I'm worry free about transportation cost, I would have to pay extra for that. That extra cost is what I refer to as the convenient cost. At this stage of life, where my purchasing power is not at the level where I could afford that high level of convenience, I have to be a good planner to maximize the value of my money spent by strategising my routes. However, one day when I do have the purchasing power, I would not hesitate to spend a little extra for convenience because part of the factor that makes a great vacation is to worry less about small matters and enjoy the moment at hand.

This is a reminder to myself to work hard and smart so that I can afford the weekly pass for convenience.

Thanks for reading, friends.