Ha
I wouldn't want to question a published authority, but I think many here would deny that their second cars, and maybe even their first cars cost $7200 pa. $0.72 per mile for 10,000 miles?
Hi Ha. I think it's excellent to question people's posts. Keeps us on our toes. From our piece
Retire to Simplicity: http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/retire_to_simplicity.htm
The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates that car-ownership costs are the second-largest household expense in the United States. In fact, people in the average household spend almost as much on their cars as they do on food and health care combined for their entire family -- about $600 per month.
We received that information in the Spring of 2006...
You might also want to check out sites such as
Carfree.com http://www.carfree.com/
Take a look at their links page also. Cars are expensive to own. We in the States have become very dependent on our vehicles for
lots of reasons. When one considers insurance, maintenance and repairs, gasoline, parking, car washes, storage and so on, it does add up.
We have been able to keep our transportation costs down below $7,200 per year but that is for a couple of reasons. We only drive about 1,500 miles a year, drive an older vehicle, put it on storage status when we leave the States and don't consider our vehicle a sex symbol. Our transport costs also includes airfares and public transportation which is what we use most of the year.
Kcowan
So the operating costs might be lower although you need to add oil changes and any maintenance. Also the costs of parking and even the cost of maintaining a garage if you use one. You can argue against depreciation or drive an older car that has higher maintenance. But the costs are significant no matter how you slice it.
Costs
are significant. In a person's household the costs usually go in the decending order of housing, transport, taxes, food. If you can cut in any of those areas you will see measurable savings.
Ha
Often I have trouble believing that some posters can live as cheaply as they say.
Again, it's important to question people's posts. I'm not sure if that was meant as a 'knock' on our figures (see
Priceless Retirement http://www.retireearlylifestyle.com/motley_fool_article_6.htm ) but we have posted that we spend +/- $24K per annum
net .
Some years it is far less and other years it is a bit more. We have brought our figures up to date so as to reflect 2006 spending, and
although the categories have shifted, the net annual spending has been the same. It shocks us too because we live very well. Knowing how to cook helps, not needing 'stuff' helps and basing our lives on experience, not things adds to our quality of living tremendously. We are not 'poor', we do not 'scrape by.'
Kramer
I agree. And it is a pain to maintain insurance, storage, etc., for your car during travels. And if you don't own one, getting proper insurance is more difficult and expensive for occasional car rentals.
Yeah, they getcha there...
I just read in the
Bangkok Post the other day where a large amount of foreigners lose their lives while driving in a country other than their own. There are cultural reasons for this (for instance - driving on the 'other side of the road' than one is used to, Americans and British tourists take for granted that stop signs and red lights actually
mean something and Americans are less likely to use their horns and foreigners rely on them as a function of driving...) It is considered safer to take public transport than to figure out the mapping, foreign language signs and cultural differences.
So far in semi-FIRE, I can easily do all of my errands without a car. But I use it mostly to meet with friends and relatives. It can be hard to be spontaneous without a vehicle.
I agree that it's hard to be spontaneous without a vehicle. Everything has a price, no doubt. That's why I would like to see more public transport options.
One of the trades I utilize is that I have girlfriends drive and I treat them for lunch. -- but maybe that's a 'girl' thing...
Be well,
Akaisha
Author,
The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement