Putting a roof over your head

Day 2,681, 05:39 • Published in Australia Canada • by Ilene Dover



Continuing the bipolar articles that can't decide between silly and serious...today's serious subject is one that is near and dear to my heart - housing.


For those of you who have not yet realised, a Q1 house is an investment that can make you money. All we have to do is some basic maths, but no worries, I'll walk you through it. With pictures even.


The most important thing to realise is that a house earns you something called an overtime ticket. You get one every hour and they don't expire. Collect 24 tickets and you can work an overtime shift. No penalty rates, just your base salary... The house will last for a week (7 days). So, you can earn up to 7 days extra income.



We need to find out two things to know whether a buying a house is a good idea or not. Firstly, and just like the real world, it is important to know how much money you make working your clicker finger into the ground. The game being occasionally helpful tells you under "My Companies", which is where you wind up if you click the button to complete daily tasks. You'll wind up seeing something like this, complete with buggy post-mission display. 🙂




Deduct Work Tax ($0.60) from Gross Salary ($60) to find how much filthy lucre gets added to my bank account after the dicktator gets his hands on it. $59.40, which is pretty good money if I do say so myself. Thanks Skynet. 🙂


Next, again just like the real world, we need to know how much a house is going to set you back. Completely unlike the real world, a bank is not waiting in the wings to sell you into middle class slavery for 30 years - you're going to need the cash up front. You can find this by clicking through the Marketplace screens. I'll assume you can do that - if you can't then give me a shout.


You'll wind up seeing something like this.





The price is circled in red, for those of you old enough to need glasses. Now, a house lasts for seven days. Some simple maths tells us that if our net salary (that is, salary after tax) multiplied by 7 is greater than the price of a house, well, you win. In my case, $59.40 x 7 = $415.80. The house costs $449, which is clearly more. So, no go there - the house costs more than it is worth (no surprises there for the Aussie market...).


I can hear you yelling, what gives Ilene, why am I wasting my time reading this junk?! Well, eAustralia is a small market in the grand scheme of things. One of the few good side effects of being partly occupied is ready access to another country's marketplace. Jump across the border to Peru, or any other country that is bigger than ours. Click on the flag, circled in blue above, and change it (to Peru in this case).


You'll wind up seeing something like this.





The price is circled in blue. And wow, what a difference! A quality Peruvian built house is only $290. The difference between $290 and what I earn over seven days ($415.80) is as good as money in the bank. A princely $125.80 is not to be sneezed at if you're as poor as I am.


So, do your research carefully. Odds are you can find a house that suits your income level.



Oh, and just in case you weren't convinced, you get 50 extra energy (so 550 usable and 550 stored) as thrown into the bargain. Look how much energy bars cost to buy, and see if you can find the better value product!