Times up.
It is five months to the day that we gave up our second car and became a one-car household. It is also how long my wife and I agreed to this living-with-less experiment. I had no idea it was going to be as stress free as it was and still is.
You can link back to my first blog entry to learn more about the factors that drove our decision.
So what’s the take-away? We can live with one car. But living in a community that was build around cars makes it difficult if not down right impossible for most typical suburbanites. What truly cut down on the potential stress level is that both us work out of the house. Most people, even those who commute by train, can’t cut their ignition wires from the grip of suburban sprawl. But if one car living is unrealistic, you can still cut your use.
Here’s the five-month savings and expense tote:
New car payments (4) $3,300
Gas $ 500
Rental car ($98.00)
Repairs ($1,180)
Total to date: $2,522
Now, after all this, I really can’t say we’ll stay a one-car family forever. In fact, I hope that it ends in early 2009. My business is changing, or I should say, my business partner and I are changing to aggressively grow it. That will mean more meetings and (hopefully) more clients to visit and service, requiring maximum mobility to get the job done.
So, for now, the lifestyle continues…
2 comments:
Here is my latest tale of multi-car woe. This past Sunday my 17 year old drove her (my) car onto a flooded road. Before she knew it the water was around her feet and rising fast. The quick-thinking (HA) lass bailed out and the car had to be winched out of a new tributary of the DuPage river. Car a total loss.
Yesterday my wife backed her car into my car on the driveway! Estimated damage $2K per car which we will pay out of pocket or risk excommunication from the church of State Farm.
The moral: One car is good.
Glenn
Glenn,
I heard about the-four-door-in-the-flood story.
Which car did she hit, the blue or purple?
b.
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