The one parking ticket that exposed my whole morning routine

I was 12 minutes late to a dentist appointment on 5th Avenue last Tuesday because I spent 15 minutes circling for a spot. When I finally pulled into the last open space, I rushed inside without checking the meter. Came out 40 minutes later to a $68 ticket and realized I never even looked at the posted hours. Turns out that block has free parking after 10am, but I was there at 9:48. I could have just parked 3 blocks away for $4 and walked. Now I always set a timer on my phone to check the meter before I go into any building. Does anyone else waste more money avoiding a tiny walk than the walk would cost?

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1 Comment

price.tara14d ago

The timer thing is a good habit, but I gotta gently point out that 12 minutes late plus 15 minutes circling doesn't quite add up to the math you said. You parked at 9:48 and were done 40 minutes later, so that's 10:28, not a huge deal. But the real kicker is you could have checked the sign on the way in, that takes 5 seconds and saves you $68. Parking meters are designed to make you rush, so don't beat yourself up, we've all been there.