Question about paying $220 for a monthly parking spot in Chicago

I used to circle my block in Logan Square for 40 minutes every night looking for street parking, and I was sure paying $220 a month for a garage spot was a waste of cash. Then one night in January I got a $75 ticket plus a $160 tow bill, and I did the math on how much I was actually losing in time and money. What made you finally give in and pay for parking, or are you still fighting the street every night?

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keith90013d ago

So you got towed once and suddenly $2,640 a year is a bargain? A $75 ticket and a $160 tow is $235 total, and that is a bad night for sure, but it is one bad night. That garage spot costs you more than ten times that in a single year, every year, whether you use it or not. Do the real math: even if you get towed twice a year you are still way ahead on the street, and most people do not get towed twice a year. The whole "my time is worth money" thing sounds good until you realize you are paying yourself nothing to sit in your car, that forty minutes is just the cost of living in a city with cheap rent. Plenty of us have been parking on the street in Logan Square for years without some huge disaster, you just have to learn the rules and move your car for street cleaning. Paying $220 a month so you never have to think about it is a luxury, not a smart money move.

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