Get Rid of Your Car
As a bachelor, you are already saving hundreds upon thousands of dollars by avoiding costly relationships with women.
Women are expensive.
Despite making less money than men, (due to choosing low paying fields, working fewer hours, and failing to negotiate salary increases) women account for an amazing 85% of ALL consumer spending in the US, and 65% of student loan debt.
Often women will take great pride in bragging about their high cost of maintenance.
Things like hair, nails, makeup, and clothes add up fast, not to mention the dinner dates and vacations they feel they are entitled to simply because men want to sleep with them.
Right off the bat, you increase your ability to stack up big bucks by limiting your interactions with women.
In this post, I’m going to make a bold suggestion for fellow Solitary Beasts to pile your savings and investment accounts even higher.
Some of you will balk immediately, “No way! Impossible!”.
A few of you will be willing to hear me out.
The smartest Beasts among us are already doing this.
If you live in, or near a reasonably sized city, especially if you are an able-bodied. healthy guy, there is one move you can make to instantly save thousands of dollars, get more exercise, feel better, and cross dozens of headaches off your list of problems:
Get Rid of Your Car
This is common sense in many large cities, both inside the US, and abroad.
I’ve met functioning adults with lucrative careers who, born and raised in cities like London, Ho Chi Minh, and New York, never needed to learn how to drive.
In these cities, people use public transit, walk, or bike to get around.
For the rest of us, we purchase a car: a huge financial decision, costing tens of thousands of dollars, out of habit.
It’s considered a rite of passage in most of the US.
The car is a symbol of maturity and freedom.
Teens count the days until they can get their own driver’s license.
Most of us drive an older “beater” car when we’re young.
Once we have a good paying job, we rush to buy a nicer car to symbolize our new status.
Do You Need To Own A Car?
A vehicle is over 2,000 pounds of heavy, dirty, expensive machinery.
In the US, most adults rate their car as their second largest expense, next to their mortgage or rent.
The average annual cost of car ownership in the US is over $9,000.
We rush into this huge hassle and expense without ever stopping to ask,
“Do I really NEED to own a car?”
It’s simply part of The Script, that most people accept without question.
As Solitary Beasts and bachelors, we are already used to examining customs with a critical eye, rather than rushing in just because it’s expected, and “what everyone else is doing”.
You Can Live Without A Car; You’ll Probably Enjoy It
I got rid of my car five months ago.
It needed expensive repairs worth almost as much as the value of the car itself.
Rather than throw thousands down the drain on my old car, or EVEN MORE money financing a newer one- I sold it.
The car was in good shape, other than the needed repairs, and low miles for the year.
I sold it the within hours of posting it online.
I walked away with a wad of cash, and never looked back.
Life Without A Car
Since I sold my vehicle, I was able to commute a 12 mile round trip to work every day.
I also bought groceries, went to dentist appointments, dates, drinks with friends, and continued remodeling my house.
I also went on 3 road trips to neighboring states, including a hot springs in Idaho, camping a secluded mountainside in Montana, and week long adventure to the Oregon coast, and back.
Without a car, I spend a little more time planning trips than before.
I more than make up for that in saving time and money not worrying about an expensive, depreciating hunk of metal.
Why I Love Living Car-Free
Saving mental energy
Suddenly I don’t have endless tasks and expenses taking up space in my brain.
Cars require CONSTANT maintenance: oil needs changing, tires need rotating, fluids must be flushed and replaced at regular intervals.
You have to schedule (and pay for) inspections, emissions tests, and registration fees.
Once I got rid of the car, I realized how much energy I was spending on simply keeping it running, and legal.
Saving money
This one is huge.
A car is expensive no matter what.
Newer cars come with hefty payments and costly insurance fees.
Older cars have sneaky, hidden repairs and even more maintenance.
An older car doesn’t have a monthly note, but it is a ticking time bomb of batteries, belts, gaskets, all the little parts and pieces that will stop working when you least expect it, and can least afford it.
Not to mention unexpected expenses like tickets.
If you do the repairs yourself, what you save in money, you lose in time.
I often spent hours of the weekend underneath a car.
I saved a little money, but missed out on fun, adventures, or simply time spent relaxing and recharging from the pressures of the work week.
3. Exercise
After I sold my car, I still had to get to work, six miles from my home.
I started cycling the commute.
What was once a boring chore became the most fun part of my day.
Instead of grouchy and sleepy, I would arrive at work energized and happy.
The summer that I sold my car, I got down to the leanest I have ever been in my life.
Twelve miles to work and back, not to mention any errands I needed to run, was over 60 miles a week on the bike.
I was able to drink beers with my friends, and still have abs rippling underneath my shirt, because I was burning hundreds more calories, just going about my regular day.
4. Fun
A car shields the driver from the outside environment, but a bicycle thrusts the rider into it.
On my bicycle, I could smell fresh baked pastries from the corner Mexican bakery, I got sprinkled by homeowners watering their lawns.
I could smell flowers blooming and hear birds chirping.
I smiled at retirees taking morning walks, and moms pushing bubbly babies in colorful strollers.
Riding a bicycle allows you to experience a city in a completely different way.
I loved it.
I started getting to work earlier and earlier every day, because I was EXCITED to wake up and ride my bike to work.
A Car Free Lifestyle Is Easier Now Than Ever
As we all discovered during the recent COVID crisis, most of us never needed to leave our homes in the first place.
With Work From Home (WFH), internet retailers, grocery delivery, and some pre-planning, you can live a completely happy, convenient life without a car.
I live less than 2 blocks from a fully stocked grocery store, so I easily walk there for the staples I need.
For anything larger than I can carry, or more specialized than my local grocery, I order it on Amazon and get it the next day in most cases.
More things fit in a backpack than you would think. I can bike to Lowe’s in 15 minutes, and throw a tool or reasonably sized component in a backpack easily.
You don’t need to drive a 2,000 pound car to the store to pick up a paddle bit, or refrigerator water line and plumbing fittings, as I’ve done many times.
We’re just accustomed to jumping in cars without considering any other options.
Renting a dream ride on special occasions is cheaper than owning a clunker, and A LOT more fun.
When I Do Need A Car
For some things, a car is unavoidable.
When I’ve needed to move multiple bags of mulch, a power washer, a large tree, and when I’ve done multi-state road trips, I just rented a car.
If I’m going out with friends and don’t want to bike, I take a ride share app.
Ironically, even when I owned a car, I would often take ride shares for evenings out, because it can be a hassle to find a place to park downtown.
The best feeling in the world is picking up a shiny, brand new car, driving it around for the weekend for projects or trips- then being able to hand over the keys and walk away.
No insurance costs, no worrying about that strange noise under the hood, no crawling underneath to change the oil or replace a belt.
It’s the difference between dating a woman on weekends, when she’s dolled up and happy to see you every time, and moving her into your house then dealing with her nagging and complaints day in and day out.
If You Can’t Go Car Free
If you can’t live without owning a car, due to location, health concerns, having a child, caring for an older relative, consider going car-light.
This is the option I might explore at some point, if I need a car for business, or my lifestyle changes.
Car light options include:
sharing the cost of car ownership with a friend
owning a cheaper car
intentionally cycling more and driving less.
With small children, you can reduce the chance of expensive repairs by taking a bike trailer.
If they’re old enough, they can even pedal their own bike on short trips.
Car Free may not be possible, or preferred, for everyone, however once you examine the benefits I’ve laid out here, I’m sure you’ll consider giving it a chance.
In Conclusion
In the last five months, living car free has been 100% positive.
I spend my weekends doing projects that are more important to me than car repairs.
I’m leaner, and in better shape than when I would jump into a gas guzzler to grab a box of cereal and bag of chips from the store.
I live near the center of a mid-sized city, which makes all this much easier, but that is another aspect of planning.
On Youtube, I watched stories of men in cities from Ottawa, Canada, to Los Angeles, even Baton Rouge, Louisiana boasting about the time, money, and mental energy they’ve saved living car free.
There are even families with children going for a car free life.
I’m an evangelist now, talking to everyone who will listen about the joys of ditching your car.
However, one small problem looms.
I live in a city that has heavy winters and mountains of snow during the cold months.
My car free journey started in spring, through summer, and now early fall.
It won’t be as easy to jump on two wheels once there is 8 inches of snow stacked on the roads.
Will I make it without breaking down and buying a car? I’ll keep you posted.
-Solitary Beast