Frugal in retirement

plumduff55

Hi, Another week into my self imposed car ban and I have made a decision 😄. Ruminating over this for weeks if not months I realised that all the reasons for keeping the car are negative.

Reasons for keeping the car

My mobility may get worse.

I may need to see the GP urgently.

Reasons why I could happily live car free

I really don't like driving.

I live 100 yards from the main road where the bus stops are situated.

I live between two large towns and four miles from the area hospital - these are all on a bus route with buses every 15 minutes during the day and half hourly in the evenings. Bus service is great because of the large hospital.

Lately I use the car once a month for supermarket shopping - the rest of the times I've used the car was only to take it out as it was sitting idle and needed to be used.

I have two good friends who will take me to the gp if necessary.

So I have decided to sell the car :j:eek:

I have to admit that I am a bit anxious but this is a decision made for optimistic reasons. I will do a monthly online shop, I'm already losing weight to lessen the stress on the joints which do not hinder my lifestyle at present.

I have an appointment on Monday morning at the garage where I bought the car. The price quoted is £500 more than "We buy ..........." with no admin costs. Altogether I will have lost £1,300 on the price paid last April but that included trade in.

I feel very brave making this decision xx

joedenise

Well done on making the decision. Just wish we could do the same but we have an absolutely appalling bus service - hourly between 6am and 6pm!

Denise

buildersdaughter

Plumduff, I'm sure you've made a good decision. Looking at your 'reasons for keeping the car' I'd say that if you need to see a GP urgently, you're probably not in a position to drive! Also, in the situation you describe, your bus service is likely to continue.
I'll make a suggestion, based on a few people I know who have given up cars. I would make a point, in the next few months, of using a taxi firm. Find one you get on with, and use them every so often - a good relationship with a taxi firm is useful.

Techno

Plumduff you could also put away the money you would have spent on tax/insurance/petrol into a jar/bank account/under the mattress and use that whenever you need a taxi or other form of transport. Are you yet of the age when you get a free bus pass? If so you should hopefully have a nice little nest egg at the end of each year.

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
Not popped by for a few days. Working lots, family visits and then a trip to Manchester to see Strictly yesterday has kept me busy.
Things should calm down a bit now though.
OHs best mate is an architect and has said he will draw up plans for us to revamp our very small flat. It’s ok at the moment but when we get older the size of the bedroom will cause problems, we will struggle to move about in there as it is so small. We are redoing the kitchen and bathroom anyway so while we are in chaos it’s a good time. We also need more plugs and a new front door so we might as well get it all done at once.
The future proofing needs doing so we might as well do it while we can cope with the upheaval.
We need to cut down on the clutter. A lot of it is clothing so we are having a stop on buying clothes unless absolutely necessary until what we have is down to a better level.
It is absolutely freezing here. It looks blue and lovely out but it’s definitely a day for lots of layers. I’m hoping OHs physio says he can drive again soon, the tram stop isn’t that sheltered and it isn’t that pleasant at this time of year.
Anyway I better get on
I hope you are all keeping warm and well guys
Cuddles

plumduff55

I can't believe I've done it - I've sold the car !!!

:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j

I have to say I was really wavering this morning and part of this is fear that all of a sudden I might desperately need a car. But the worst that can happen will be using the money I got today to buy another car.

Yesterday I went out in the freezing cold and emptied and washed the car. I have been driving for 15 years and never used a car wash I was then wishing I hadn't cleaned the car as all the scrapes on the front two alloys were in full view. - all my fault I have to admit. Anyway, because of this I was really surprised that they still gave me the full money quoted online.

The money from the car sale will be put into a fixed rate savings account probably only getting 2% but better than nothing. I put away £55 each month for the upkeep of the car and extra for petrol. £25 of this will be set aside for a Taxi fund. I'm not expecting having to use taxis unless in an emergency so this should be enough.

I am so happy and relieved that I've finally done it. I shall keep you updated with my progress. Thanks for all your input xx

Goldiegirl

Wow, Plumduff, you didn't hang about!

However, I bet it feels good to have taken action, and got it over with

joedenise

Well done Plumduff. I'm sure you'll manage with using public transport to get around and taxi if you need to get somewhere quickly.

cuddlymarm

Good morning guys
Well done Plumduff, it’s hard to make big decisions like that. My eldest son doesn’t have a car but rents one occasionally for long journeys, so that may be an option if ever you need it.
I hope everyone is keeping warm and safe in this freezing weather. We had a little bit of snow, then the temperature dropped like a stone and has barely been above 0 for the last 3 days. So all I’ve done is rush home from work and snuggle up.
OHs shoulder is improving and he can now drive very short distances and just wear his sling when it feels tired. He has more movement in it all ready which is a relief. He is getting a bit grumpy and bored now though that he can’t do anything in his garage, but as I pointed out it’s too cold anyway.
I’ve noticed that it’s staying light longer so we are heading towards spring. I always find that winter makes me feel sluggish.
It looks like my youngest sons firm will be relocating nearer here so he will be buying a house near us. That will be lovely, he does like city living but I think the shine is wearing off and where he can only afford a one bed flat there, he can afford a 3 bedroom house with garden here. Fingers crossed.
Anyway I better get on as I’m on work this morning.
Keep warm and well guys
Cuddles

plumduff55

Well, one week on from selling the car and I have no regrets at all. Just a sense of relief that I've actually done it. I think hanging on to the car was a status thing. While bringing up my kids on my own I was unable to afford a car and always felt like the poor relation as all my family had cars. But now I have chosen not to have a car - it's quite different.

The money for the car went into my bank account on Wednesday so just took 48 hours. It's still sitting in an account earning 0.35% till I decide what to do with it. HL have a new cash savings account where there is a choice of about a dozen fixed rate accounts with competitive interest rates. The good thing is at the end of the fixed rate you can change it to another account without having to open another bank account. I have a call arranged from Pension Wise next week and will decide after that what to do with the money.

Last night I took over an hour to do a Tesco online shop. I quite enjoyed it as it was much easier scrolling down to compare prices. There are a couple of things I will still buy from Lidl or Aldi and will visit one of these stores each week to do a small top up shop.

It's a beautiful sunny morning here today. The village where I live has an adjoining country park and I love going for walks there. i'm planning to go for an hour's walk after lunch xx