Kids but no car

Georgiegirl256

ironman1 wrote: »

Does anyone else cope without wheels?

Of course they do! That's what public transport is for....

lavandergirl_2

Try using a sling for the second baby. Visit the local sling library in your area.

Check out the Sling dads in youtube.
Sling dads http://youtube.com/watch?v=owKezufdP6w

The right sling makes a huge difference. It is cheaper than having a car!

BitterAndTwisted

You admit that you've not got lot of money left over once the bills are paid, so getting a loan to buy a car is going to put a lot of unnecessary stress on your budget. A car which you are likely to be using only at the weekends. I really don't think it's a good idea. You live in London with public transport probably a short walk away, you're not out in the middle of the country-side miles away from the nearest shop.

Eljhem

4 boys, no car. We found it was cheaper to use buses, trains and the occasional taxi as when required than to purchase and run a car.

I find that friens/family that have a car use it for unneccessay short trips instead of walking.

duchy

If it is only for family days out then I'm struggling to understand why it suddenly becomes impossible with two children . One parent with a toddler AND a baby can be hard but do-able - but with one parent per child it's not much different to now surely ?

Trains, buses, local coach companies do all sorts of day trips by coach, even weekend car hire deals will all save you more than tax and insurance and the cost of even a cheap car (and obviously with safety a priority it can't be too cheap) and don't forget servicing and unexpected repairs and parking charges.

I found the biggest step was giving up the car.....which you've already done-If your budget is already tight why not see how it goes. Once you have one at school , another at nursery it may become an essential so why not start a car fund now so if you do find later on you need one the purchase won't be such a budget buster ?

I grew up just outside of London -my Mum didn't drive -we'd just jump on the train.... I used to feel a bit sorry for my little friends who went everywhere by car as I thought (as a kid) that the train was so much more of an adventure

anotheruser

Good advice above.
The only thing I have to add is if you had to sell your last car to be able to afford "other things", why are you having another child before it appears you can afford it?

Molly41

I used to walk everywhere with four kids and left the car at home!
It is so much easier - strap wiggling child in car seat, get in, negotiate traffic, mediate and sooth screaming children whilst remaining safe on the road, find parking, park (with said children trying to free themselves from car obstructing your view), set up buggy, get kids out of car, strap in buggy and repeat in reverse.

Compared to just strapping kids into buggy and setting off?

They do some wonderful double pushchair/ buggy combos and might be worth investing in that rather than a car!

I used to take scooters and trikes with me and hook onto to buggy when they got tired and buggy boards.

No contest and I got my pregnancy figure back!

Prothet_of_Doom

This might not help, but if I factor in the cost of owning a car, I'm looking at £1000 a year for tax and insurance and servicing and repairs a year. Depreciation, and in your case the cost of the interest on the Loan. Plus Fuel. Now people will tell you to avoid modern diesels in a city, so you are into petrol cars. So you are looking at 20 to 25p a mile on fuel. So lets say you do 5000 miles a year that's 1250 quid a year. So shall we call that £3000 a year total ? 57 quid a week?
So you can shop on line and have stuff delivered, you can get a taxi back from the shops if you must go into a supermarket, you live in a city, so there's good pubic trainsport (spelling correct!!!), and IF you ever need a car or a van you can probably rent one for the weekend for £60 anyway.


This is advise from a Pistonhead who loves driving.

claire16c

Just use something like zip car.

Where I live Id be stuffed without a car, but if you are near central london and cant really afford one it makes much more sense to just rent one when you need it.

4nnabella

anotheruser wrote: »

Good advice above.
The only thing I have to add is if you had to sell your last car to be able to afford "other things", why are you having another child before it appears you can afford it?

errr...
a) how is that helpful?
and
b) how is it any of your business?