Any one car families here

**Nana2two** · 05-07-2009, 03:28 AM

We have 1 van. Hubby is home by 2 everyday from house calls and when gas was real high he was home most of the time.WE had 2 til around 4 months ago . the car was drove maybe 1 time a week if that. We saved $60 month in car insurance.

**Michelle** · 05-07-2009, 07:59 AM

We used to be a one car family years ago when the kids were really small (ie before preschool), and I didn't drive. Once they hit preschool age, we bought a second car because it was too much to plan all of their activities plus get Dave to & from work (15 min away w/o traffic).

I wish we could get by with only one car though. Less hassle and less money

**oiteness** · 05-11-2009, 06:38 AM

Originally Posted by frugalwarrior

My daughter starts community college this fall if all goes well . I am seriously trying to fiqure this all out myself as it would involve another loan. I may end up driving her to save the $1000. insurance fee. How stupid would you feel if your mom drove you to college every day? If she can't find a job it may be the only option. We cannot feasible pay down debt,save for retirement,pay tuition,pay her ins. w/ a second child graduating in 2 years. Need to win that lottery.

Just wanted to reply to you frugalwarrior, personally I never minded my mom driving/dropping me off somewhere, and if I did, I would have found another way to get there. Also, you gotta just tell your daughter that, hey we can't afford to buy you a car/insurance/whatever you need to get a part time job and buy a junker, if you don't want me to drive you to school.

Simple as that, I don't have kids, but my parents always told it to me straight, how it was, even if it was tough to hear, i'd complain, but i'd come around in a few days. I bought my first car at 16 for 500 dollars, and paid for insurance all the way through, so did most of my friends.

-main post

My husband and I share a vehicle and it works out fine, I don't have a job at the moment, and we're blocks away from public transport so if I HAVE to get somewhere I can take the train/bus etc.

he just hates the grocery store so thats the only downside too it.

the upside is, one car payment!

**monkeywrangler71** · 05-11-2009, 04:58 PM

Six years and counting now that we've been a one car household. Several times we planned to get a second and just kept putting it off. I drive my husband to the train when I absolutely must have the car. I go for groceries on Saturday.

When we were both working I dropped my husband off at his office on my way to work, then picked him up after I was done.

When I was growing up no one had two cars.

**Jeanna** · 05-12-2009, 09:14 AM

I think it is great that all you guys can get by on one car. Sometimes our driveway looks more like a parking lot.

**perSue** · 05-12-2009, 09:24 AM

we're a 1 car fam. and yes it took a little adjusting - on my part, to not be able to go where i want, when i want.
BUT, it has helped me schedule my time better.
errands, only the necessary, are run on weekends. sometimes, if we really l need something, i'll run out during the week.

sometimes, depending on how i feel, the weather & my schedule, i'll walk the 1.5 miles to the grocery and get what i need. it's exercise, a nice stroll, and i get food.

so it's opened up more opportunities for me... to concentrate on what needs to be done vs. "i have a car, i can go to the fabric store!" LOL

I don't mind it. I do enjoy the luxury of 2 cars. But for us, it's really not necessary at this time. And I'm enjoying it.

**imagine** · 05-12-2009, 09:53 AM

one car family here too. Have been almost five years.

I generally am the one in possession of vehicle. Hubby walks to work in all seasons. If it is really snowy he packs his good shoes in a backpack and wears his snow boots.

Hubby was once carless for a week as I took the car and the kids to visit my mother in another town. He had know problem he never found the need for the car.

Side note we have restaurants, grocery store, hair cutting place, hubby's work, the bank, the postoffice, video rental place,church etc all with in a mile of the house so he could get pretty much anything he needed, if he needed something.

**ebrandwein** · 05-12-2009, 12:48 PM

One car for us for the last 17 years. Trains, busses, bicycles and walking for the rest.

**kittykatstrong** · 05-12-2009, 01:46 PM

We have always been a 1 car family because my hubby doesnt drive.

Planning your errands for the days when you have it will save you money in the long run because you cant pop out for that thing.

**PrairieGirl** · 05-12-2009, 02:54 PM

Technically, we're a one car family. DH has a truck he uses for work but he doesnt drive it on his off days as the cost of petrol for it is way too much. DH also has a motorcycle he uses during the summers but there are certain things he obviously needs the car for.

Sometimes it takes a bit of planning on both of our parts to make it work, but honestly, I find it really easy. No trip is ever so important that it cant wait a day or two, KWIM?

Nice to see lots of families on here doing the one car thing

**SammeyG** · 05-12-2009, 09:53 PM

We were once a one suv family as well. To us it was easy at frist. At the time that we moved to Phoenix dbf got his old job back from when he lived here the frist time. But if I need suv then I would get up and take him to work. Then when I got a job we still had the suv. Now we have 2 suvs. Only because I got switched to 2nd shift and he is on days. We tried it for a short time when I was switched to 2nd shift. But it was getting tired all the time so had an opp. to buy a second suv from a friend. It has helped out a lot.

**MisaLady** · 05-13-2009, 08:06 AM

In the eight years that my husband and I have been together, we have never owned a car. He'd had one prior to knowing me, but it died. I've actually never had my license, though I went through driver's ed with such a good score that I didn't have to take my final driver's test.

However, we have always made the choice to live in the city. Our home is serviced by three bus routes within a block of our home, within three blocks, there are eight bus routes, and within about half a mile, you meet up with the bus tunnel so I don't know how many that is, but it's a LOT. Within a mile, you hit what I call "an umpteen number" of buses.

We've done the calculations. If we moved out of the city, we'd both have to get cars. The cost of buying a car plus gas plus insurance plus maintenance fees just isn't worth it to us. I get a free yearly pass from my work that covers any fare within the region, including light rail and commuter rail on Amtrak. (This, btw, is the single biggest reason I turned down telecommuting. If you don't work in the office, the city doesn't help subsidize this, so you're not given it through work.) My husband gets a monthly pass at a discount. I know people who are horrified by the idea of using mass transit. I personally love it. Plus, really, I like being within walking distance of nearly everything I want access to. If I wanted to, I could walk to work (I used to do this out of necessity when I worked at five a.m.)... I think it's only a mile and a half.

I do have to admit that, had we chosen to have children, it probably would be too expensive for us to live in the city. But we've been in our building long enough that our rent is "cheap" by comparison to the rest of the area, we can still have pets, and with it being just the two of us, we only need one bedroom.

There are times, however, when having a car would be useful: for instance, when I go to visit my mother. She lives in the suburbs and transit out there is fairly crappy, though even she has two bus lines within a mile of her house (they stop earlier than I'd like, however). In times like these, we plan ahead and make compromises (like agreeing to get her to pick us up if we go as far as the transit center - cuts out about 20 minutes on the bus and about 10/15 minutes on foot).

Also, we get our groceries delivered most times. Usually, I get it free or for only a couple of dollars (we found that the foods we tended to purchases rarely had coupons anyway). In order to get free groceries, we have to make a big enough purchase. One of the newer grocery delivery services in our area, AmazonFresh, also gives a case discount on cat and dog food, which is nice for us and would pay for the delivery fee anyway. In between, if we need to supplement the delivery (or if we don't have enough groceries we need to buy that I think it's worth getting delivery), we have two grocery stores within a half-mile walking distance and another two that are one bus ride away (one of these would be one bus ride from work). In addition, there's a convenience store a block and a half away that has fairly reasonable prices on most things (although there are definitely some things that we make the effort to go to an actual grocery store for).

One of my friends comes over almost every week on Fridays. He lives in area called White Center. It's not that far by car, but it's a ways by bus. Again, this is something that'd be easier by car, but he just plans ahead and makes sure to give himself enough time to get home.

And there have been times where I've had a lot of errands to do throughout the general region. This is a pain by bus, but usually I can find somebody willing to hang out with me for the day and drive me around (often, it's my sister), if I pay for their gas and maybe take them out to lunch (fast food).

This probably isn't useful to you, but it's what we do.

**Palooka** · 05-13-2009, 03:09 PM

After reading all of the post, it really does depend on where you live and where your job is. People that have their job close to home in walking distance is very lucky or to be able to drive your dh to work. We live in the burbs outside the big city so alot of things is not in walking distance. Plus walking time would take about 20 minutes just to get out of our neighborhood.