If you’ve ever considered becoming a one car family, stick around because we’ll share our journey, tips, and the benefits of living with just one car.
When we sold everything and moved to the coast, we had one car for a while. For some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to buy a second one again. A few years later, we learned that it wasn’t the best decision for us.
How Many Households Only Have One Car?
Becoming a one-car household can be less overwhelming than you think. If you have always had your own car and are not sharing one, you may feel a sense of loss or a lack of independence.
Fear not. You truly can live without a second vehicle. Most Americans own only one car. Only 33% of car owners own two vehicles.
We guess that if you were searching for information on becoming a one-car family, this statistic would surprise you.
Living in rural North Carolina, we find that most people have a car themselves. So, a family of two usually has two cars. Three drivers in the home? Three cars.
Since the pandemic, the increase in the number of those who work from home has more than likely changed the scope of the need for daily transportation. We fall into that bucket.
The Decision to Become a One Car Family
Over the past couple of years, we have been saying that we should really consider selling one of our cars. We are mindful of the times when we need a second car. When they happen, we ask ourselves, “What would we do if we just had one car in this situation?”
We always come up with an answer.
Even though we do not live in an area where there is public transportation, we still could get an Uber or taxi to an area that has public transportation. We could also get to a rental car service.
Our Considerations For Being a One Car Household
- Environmental Concerns
- We know that having two cars increases our carbon footprint. We use more gas, have more carbon emissions, and use more energy when we can consolidate the times we use one car.
- Financial Benefits
- The financial implications of our personal finance goals are the primary reason we considered moving to a one-car family. We figured we would save money significantly on auto insurance, maintenance, fuel, and auto issues as they arise. The average amount we would save a year is roughly $2000 per year. We do not have car payments, so if you do, then add those to your savings. The relief of not having a car loan could be its own category.
- Selling one of our cars also brings in cash we hadn’t planned on. Instead of putting that money down on a new car (or even a used car), we can put it into savings. If you have debt, you can use it to pay off credit cards.
- Minimalist Lifestyle
- One car would align more with our minimalist lifestyle values. Getting rid of one car not only alleviates stress, but it takes up less space, physically and mentally.
- More Adventures
- This may be surprising when you see “more adventures” as a consideration, but hear us out. By exploring alternative transportation, we found that the Amtrak railway system is an option for us. When thinking about upcoming plans to travel, we know that we can cut our travel costs by utilizing the train system. How fun is a train ride?! It’s an adventure, we will tell you that!
Steps to Make the Transition to a One Car Family
These are the steps that we made to transition to be a one car family. Yours may differ, but at least you have an idea of some things you should plan for.
- Evaluate Your Needs
- We made a trial period where we tested living with just one car. When we knew that we could make it for our needs, we knew it was time to be a one car family.
- Choosing the Right Car to Keep
- Of our two cars, we chose the one that is more reliable and has fewer maintenance expenses. Even though the second car has more room and is more of a utility vehicle, it is not the best choice for us. If you have kids, you may need to keep the one with more room.
- Planning for Logistics
- Looking at our calendar for the rest of the year and planning for the following year, we made sure that our lifestyle works with one car. We integrated public transportation, biking, and walking. The trial run played an important role here as well.
The Road to Becoming a One Car Family
You don’t have to stick to societal norms if they don’t suit your lifestyle. Just because the households in your life have two cars doesn’t mean it’s the only way to live.
The norm is to have a mortgage and a ton of debt, but you don’t want to be a part of that statistic do you?
Simplifying your lifestyle by becoming a one-car household can bring numerous benefits, from saving money to reducing your environmental impact. When you simplify your life, you often find more freedom, peace, and connection in your daily life.
Embrace what works best for you. We know that for us, being a one-car family gives us a big sigh of relief.
FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions
If it is a true health emergency, call 9-1-1. Keep ride-sharing apps on your phone available should you need them for unplanned events. You can also coordinate with friends or family for occasional emergencies. It’s good to have a backup plan in place.
We schedule errands and appointments around our car usage. If conflicts arise, we prioritize based on urgency and importance. Communication is super important!
Regular maintenance is, of course, important. We schedule maintenance appointments proactively, and one of us can take the car for those appointments while the other person is at work or does not need the car. It’s difficult to find Saturday appointments but it is possible.
