Now, some of you may have read that title and thought that I had totally lost my mind, but I am very serious. For the entire 4 years that we lived in California, my husband, Kyle, and I shared one vehicle. When we first moved to California from Virginia, we sold our second and third vehicles to make the move easier. We planned on buying something new once we moved, since our remaining car was paid off. The problem occurred when our Kia just about blew up on us and it was going to cost more to fix it than it was worth. We made the decision to trade it in and purchase a van since I was pregnant with our second child at the time and we needed the extra room. We planned on paying the van off asap and then buying a second used car. None of this worked out like we planned, as usual, and we ended up sticking with just our van for 4 years. It was hard in the beginning, but we began to figure out ways to make it work. I stayed home a lot, but the amount of money that we saved on gas, insurance, taxes, registration and more was well worth it. I also find that when you have a car, you go out more and you find more things to spend your money on:)
So, if you are looking to make some cut backs and really save, see if your household might be able to make it on just one vehicle, or even downsize from 3 to only 2. If you plan carefully and make some sacrifices, you can save some serious money!
Kerri is a pastor’s wife, stay at home mom to two little girls and the author of Adventures Of A Housewife. She loves cooking, decorating, entertaining, saving money and all the other adventures of a housewife!