Can You Become a One-Car Family to Save Money?

My husband and I were a one-car family for the first 16 years of our marriage. We knew we were saving money by having only one vehicle, but we didn’t realize how much until we bought our second car. We’ve owned two cars for the last seven years, but we’re both considering whether we could become a one-car family again to save money when my husband’s car dies. Like anything, there are drawbacks to only having one vehicle, but the savings are impressive.

Factors to Consider If You Want to Become a One-Car Family to Save Money

Not every couple can survive with one car, even if you want to save money. Before you make the leap, ask yourself these questions:

Do One or Both of You Work from Home?

If the answer is yes, this makes owning one car much more manageable. In our household, I work from home, and my husband can work from home once or twice a week, so there is some flexibility in our lifestyle. However, he can only work from home when he doesn’t have on-site meetings, which vary.

Do You Live in a Walkable Neighborhood?

Owning one car is easier If you live in a walkable neighborhood close to grocery stores, the library, etc. Unfortunately, we do not live in a walkable neighborhood. (In the early years of our marriage, we did.)

Do You Have Easy Access to Uber or Public Transportation?

For the partner without access to the car, do they have access to Uber or public transportation? When we were first married, we lived in the Chicago suburbs, so my husband could take the L train to work, which made owning just one car painless.

Is One of You a Homebody?

Some people must go out and about every day, or they feel depressed. Others are happy to stay home for extended periods. Trying to leave the social person home without a means of transportation is a problem. I’m not super social, so I would be fine staying home as long as I had access to the car one or two days during the week.

How to Try Out Owning One Vehicle

Before selling your second vehicle, try the lifestyle out for a few months. Park one of your cars and agree not to use it for two or three months. Then, note how you feel. After you get used to using one car, do you feel inconvenienced? Or isolated? Based on your feelings, determine whether this lifestyle will work for you.

How Much We Saved Owning One Vehicle

Looking at our budget, I can safely say that we save at least $2,400 a year by owning one vehicle instead of two. (That number doesn’t include a car payment, which can vary widely.) The $2,400 includes not having to purchase gas, insurance, license plates, or pay for maintenance and repairs. If you also have to have a car payment, this number could easily increase by several thousand dollars.

Final Thoughts

Becoming a one-car family to save money is unconventional, but for the right couple, it can work and save you a bundle. In addition, it’s also a smart move for the environment.

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