About 3 years ago, I had to make a decision whether I would buy a car, buy a motorbike or just take the bus every day if I wanted to go somewhere.
It’s important to note before I continue, that I don’t go out often. Usually it’s just to work every morning and back home in the afternoon, and going out sometimes to shop or do some other stuff.

So taking the bus every day would be the cheaper option, but also less convenient. I’d have to walk every day to the bus stop, wait there a few minutes for the bus, sit in the bus with a lot of strange people, and then walk from the other bus stop to where I needed to go. Too much work, and I’d waste a lot of time waiting and traveling. Plus, not a nice option when there’s bad weather.

A motorbike would be a better option, but it would still suck when there’s bad weather. So in that regard, having a car would be a better option, although more expensive. But did I really need a car just to go to work in the morning and come back home in the afternoon? Most of the time the car would just sit in the garage doing nothing. I’d invest too much money in it while I wouldn’t be using it that much.

So then I thought of a better option: Why don’t I just take a taxi every day? Not just any taxi, but I could make a deal with a driver who would pick me up every day, bring me to work, and pick me up in the afternoon and bring me home at fixed times. And if I needed to go anywhere in between, I’d just call and he’d be there to take me to where I needed to go.
I sat down and calculated that if I were to buy a used car, with the same amount of money I could take a taxi every day for at least 4 years. And that’s just with the price of the car. I didn’t even count the costs of having to pay insurance, maintenance and fuel for those 4 years. If I added all those costs to the price of the car, I’d be able to take a taxi every day for about 6 years.
And we’re talking about a used car here, so after 4 years the car wouldn’t be worth much anymore and I’d need to buy another one anyway.

So it’s been 3 years ever since, and my experiences so far with the last option have been great. The costs of having a driver are far less than owning a car, and the convenience is the best part. I don’t have to worry about car insurance every year, maintenance and all the headache that comes with owning a car. I don’t even have to drive myself every day, I can just sit down and relax enjoying the view while my driver does it for me! I get picked up on time every morning and afternoon. If my driver can’t pick me up for some reason, he sends someone else. To me it is amazingly cost effective, simple and convenient.

The reason why I explained all of the above is because last week, I sat down and calculated that with the same amount of money that I would spend on building my own house or buying one, I could live 12 years in a 4 star hotel. And again, this is just with the initial price of the house itself. If I have to calculate how much I’d need to pay in those 12 years for water, electricity, insurance, security, maintenance etc., it easily becomes 16 years. Not to mention the extra work and headache that comes with owning your own house. This is different in a hotel room. If something breaks, they fix it. I wouldn’t have to worry about anything, I’d just have to pay for the room every month and that’s it. It can’t get more convenient than this. And I’m talking about a 4 star hotel. If I went to a simpler hotel I could probably live there for 20 years for the same amount of money. And apart from the strange looks, maybe I can even get a better price for a room when I tell them I’m planning to stay for 20 years…

I’m still thinking about it.

By the way, I’m not kidding.