I try not to be one of those "Cars Suck!" holier-than-thou guys. Lots of my friends have cars and if one of my buddies is lying bleeding in a ditch I'm all in favor of 911 calls, ambulances burning fossil fuels, medi-vac choppers or whatever. But years ago Christine and I sat down, did the math and looked at what we were spending on automobiles. We decided that we'd try living without owning those machines. And that has worked out well for us for the past 20 years. We use our feet, bicycles and mass transit to get around.
My friend Bob Bryant forward me a link to this article from MSN called "The Real Reason You're Broke" by Liz Pulliam Weston. You can read it here:
http://tinyurl.com/2g8ryq
This article does a very nice job at looking at the costs of car ownership. It doesn't say "cars suck!" but it does present some real food for thought.
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4 comments:
I don't drive, either. The real reason *I'm* broke is that I spend buttloads of money on shiny new bicycles. It doesn't take a car...
I don't have to follow the link. I know my car eats up more than half of what I make right now... car pmt, insurance, gas, oil changes, routine maintenance. But society has convinced me I NEED MY CAR. So, that's how it is. ;( Grrrrrr.
I think personal financial planning should be taught in grade school. Anyone who doesn't understand compounding interest should not be allowed to graduate.
Having said that, and given our current lifestyle and infrastructure, it is unreasonable (and I would argue self-defeating) to expect most people to go car free. The best I've been able to do so far is to keep our 1991 Accord to 5-6K miles per year. In our increasingly affluent community, my wife and I are considered freaks because of the car we drive and also for being a one car family. It's hard enough as it is and as I get older, I don't feel strong enough to ride through every situation, day in and day out.
Now, I know you are not preaching so don't take this as a knock or anything. I just wanted to get another perspective in here.
I'll say it... Cars suck!
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