I just read a very interesting book. It's called How to Live Well Without Owning a Car. The author, Chris Balish does a good job of covering all the pros and cons. The amazing thing to me was the real cost of owning a car(or in our society, should I say cars?). He figures on average a person spends $700-$800 a month to keep a car on the road. I decided to figure out our cost and was shocked. In 2008,our car insurance was $1129 ,our total spent on gas was $3049.71(I use gasbuddy so I could quickly look it up). Our car repairs were roughly $1200. Oil changes and the like $300. This is a total of $5668.71! It is less than his figure because we don't make payments, but it's still $472.39/month! The total for the year is a nice hot weather vacation!
Is it possible to live without a car?
I remember years ago when we went from 2 vehicles to one. It was really hard at first, but the savings were astronomical as we had high insurance at the time. I found I could easily walk and bike to most places and use the vehicle in the evening if need be. Two car homes are considered a necessity.....but are they? Is one car a necessity? Something to ponder....
2 comments:
Amazingly we spent less last year than your figure!! I think it's because we try to use LRT and bus whenever possible and our insurance is lower. But we do run out to the cabin regularly and share between 3 adults (sometimes 4). I don't see how to get rid of the vehicle all together if you use if for something out of town more than 3 or 4 times a week. Did he have any creative ideas on that? Deb
Yes.The book really is worth a read! He talks about how even renting for the $9.99 weekends can be a great savings.Our vehicle is so big and gas guzzly...and our gas figure includes runs to Edmonton.It is good to be aware I think.Way to go with your spending..you guys are my heroes!Love Sue
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