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I would add, if your city permits it, buy a bicycle, or take public transport. You can have a car too, but every single trip you don't do in it is money saved.
by ehnto 4y ago
I would add, if your city permits it, buy a bicycle, or take public transport. You can have a car too, but every single trip you don't do in it is money saved. Kids are calling this "low car", in contrast to no car. Car dependence sneaks up on you, one moment you're a teenager with no costs the next you've got thousands a year in running costs and you're wondering where all your money is going. Fuel costs become non-negotiable, and maintenance is both hidden and a Russian roulette as to whether or not something major breaks.
Every time you don't drive the car, you play the maintenance slot machine one less time, and the accumulated effect of lower maintenance costs and lower gas is non-trivial.
The other thing I would add is to be honest with yourself, add up the car costs, rego, gas, tires, the maintenance schedule (you have a schedule even if you don't follow it). Your $20,000 dollar car probably costing you thousands a year.
- jimmaswell 4y agoEven better, an e-bike. There won't be so much friction to getting yourself to use it, especially if you have hills that would be insurmountable to the untrained leg.
- fassssst 4y agoE-bike is the most life changing purchase I’ve made in the last few years. Besides all the financial and health benefits, the biggest benefit is all the fun. Even a boring errand run becomes a nostalgia-filled, wind-in-your-hair joyride. Plus you can park right out front of wherever you’re going.
- ehnto 4y agoTotally agree. I ride person-powered bikes all the time but my e-bike changed the game for me even still. I live in a fairly hilly part of Australia, and there is no direction that does not take a level of athleticism for me to do in a reasonable amount of time. Heatwaves also rule it out from time to time. Not so with an e-bike, it really takes the rough edges off any commute and because of that I use it way more often. Anything that gets you on the bike more often is a good thing.
- Tade0 4y agoMy father was "low car" before it was cool. He bought his vehicle new and put 144k km on it over the course of 22 years. Of course that was only possible because there was a public transport network in place. I, after an initial period of driving long distances, sort of followed in his footsteps via remote work and getting groceries delivered - the latter feels like cheating though, since that's just someone else driving instead. In any case I can't recommend this enough. Cars are amazingly useful, but when used daily costs pile up quickly.
- jfk13 4y agoYes, "low car" is great -- if you live in a suitable place. Some weeks my car never leaves the driveway.
- wisnoskij 4y agoI feel like such a huge part of the cost in a car is completely upfront and if these "low car" people calculated how much they are spending per km driven, they would have a stroke and sell the car.
- ehnto 4y agoIt's totally dependent on your own circumstances I guess. For me to drive to work it costs ~$30 a day, in fuel and parking, without adding in maintenance, rego and consumables. On the bike it costs $0
- wisnoskij 4y agoYes, but I was talking specifically about framing your perception in a specific way. Driving to work actually costs you something more like ~$30 in fuel and parking and ~$25 in owning the car ($55). Biking to work costs you $0 in fuel and parking and ~$25 in owning the car that it sitting in your garage ($25). Fuel is a small percentage of the cost in owning a car, and even the most insane parking costs get anywhere near car ownership costs.
- ehnto 4y agoOh I see, yes if possible not having the car at all would be the best outcome. Even more so when you consider many people choose where they live based on it's affordances for cars, with a bit of approximation you could probably work out the figure for having a carpark/garage at where you live.