We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide
Ditch the car!
We live between a nearby suburban train station and a major bus route. I go to work on the train and my partner works from home. We don't have a garage (in common with most of our neighbours) so we have no choice but to park on the rather crowded road outside our house.
Three years ago our car was due for renewal so we decided to do without one for a while and see how we managed.
Three years later we still don't have a car, and are sitting very pretty indeed. We've kept a spreadsheet recording all our public transport and taxi fares incurred since we ditched the car, plus car-hire fees and delivery charges for things ordered that would otherwise have been collected by car. So far our monthly expenditure on transport is one third of what it was when we had the car. We don't miss it at all. There's no depreciation, no MOT, no road tax, no insurance, no servicing, no maintenance, no cleaning (!) and no worries when yobbos walk past shouting and throwing things in the wee small hours. When we want a car we take our pick of various up-to-date models, and hire one from a place half a mile away. Afterwards we give it back with a sigh of relief.
I admit that this wouldn't work for everybody, but I'm sure a lot of people out there would benefit from giving it a try. Just remember to cost your current situation carefully (incuding the cost of using your own capital) then keep careful records of your costs after getting rid of your car. You'll be surprised at the result - and if it doesn't work for you, just buy another car and carry on as before. You can't lose!
Three years ago our car was due for renewal so we decided to do without one for a while and see how we managed.
Three years later we still don't have a car, and are sitting very pretty indeed. We've kept a spreadsheet recording all our public transport and taxi fares incurred since we ditched the car, plus car-hire fees and delivery charges for things ordered that would otherwise have been collected by car. So far our monthly expenditure on transport is one third of what it was when we had the car. We don't miss it at all. There's no depreciation, no MOT, no road tax, no insurance, no servicing, no maintenance, no cleaning (!) and no worries when yobbos walk past shouting and throwing things in the wee small hours. When we want a car we take our pick of various up-to-date models, and hire one from a place half a mile away. Afterwards we give it back with a sigh of relief.
I admit that this wouldn't work for everybody, but I'm sure a lot of people out there would benefit from giving it a try. Just remember to cost your current situation carefully (incuding the cost of using your own capital) then keep careful records of your costs after getting rid of your car. You'll be surprised at the result - and if it doesn't work for you, just buy another car and carry on as before. You can't lose!
0
Comments
-
Changed jobs recently to a job that's 20 miles further away & now my car sits on the road for most of the week because the public transport connections are quicker & cheaper than going by car0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 353.5K Banking & Borrowing
- 254.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 455.1K Spending & Discounts
- 246.6K Work, Benefits & Business
- 603K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 178.1K Life & Family
- 260.6K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards