One car family?

[amomma23]

Back in June, my husband and I decided he should get rid of his truck. He teaches elementary school and this year he'll be taking both of our older boys to school with him. We decided that we don't really use the features of a truck much and it would make more sense to have a small car instead. He decided he wanted to sell rather than trade it in so that he could get a better price which I was fine with.
So fast forward to now. Someone made an offer and is coming to pick up the truck tomorrow. Now, my husband has decided that he wants to take the money and pay off a few things instead of buying a new car! I am really having a hard time wrapping my head around how this is going to work. He insists it will only be temporary and we can get something new when we get our tax return back in February/March but, we'll see.
Does anyone else have only one car and make it work? I am kind of going nuts thinking about the logistics of being down to one.

 

[NotUrsula]

Depends on where you live. If you are in a fairly urban area with public transit available and short distances to the places you need to go (school, grocery store, general merch. store, post office, coffee shop, etc.), then you probably will do OK; if you are in the sticks it will be much harder.

You didn't mention your work schedule. If you work regular office hours the car should go with you, and you will have to drop them off in the morning and have them hang around after school until you can pick them up, whenever that is. (In our case, it would be three hours after dismissal.)

 

[Beezle2]

We made it work for almost 2 years but just recently had to buy another because I need it for school now. I was surprised and happy it did work for us and saved us money when we needed it.

You said he can drive your children and works at the school but how about you? Do you need to get to work? Will you run errands on the weekends or can you drive him to work and keep the car on days when you need the car? It can work and be a money saver if you work out the details. Good luck

 

[amomma23]

More info... I stay at home with our daughter, so most days I'll be ok without the car. Tuesday and Thursday she goes to preschool for a few hours, so I'll have to pick up/drop off the boys on those days. The biggest issue I can see for us is Saturday. Our daughter goes to dance class in another town and our sons both have soccer games. I have a feeling they're going to be standing around with Dad waiting for a game to start or for me to come to pick them up.
It's just going to be a lot of running around for me and I'll have to adjust to not being able to run out for milk and things. I'm glad to hear someone else has done it successfully. I know we'll make it work (or not) and I do appreciate the $$ savings. I was just a little surprised as this was not the plan.

 

[MineMail]

Can your sons (at least) ride the school bus? That way, if your husband has to stay later, they can come home on their own.

Our former next-door neighbors had one car. She was a doctor and he was a SAH parent. They did fine because she worked long hours; he either dropped her off at the office or at the bus stop and kept the car for the day, then picked her up later. Their kids went to a play group a few days a week, so he would drive them there and back during the day, then run errands as needed.

Our family only had one car, but we lived in the City where there was plenty of mass transit. My mother worked part-time at several different places, which were difficult to reach by mass transit. We walked to school or took the city bus. My dad would take the bus/subway to work and back during the day shifts. When he worked nights, we would pick him up at the main bus stop because there were more buses that went to that stop than to our neighborhood during off-hours.

 

[Hannathy]

I would just take them to school in the morning so I could have a car. You will feel better having the car at home and he doesn't need it sitting in the parking lot. We did it for several months and I just took my DH to work in the morning and picked him up. I didn't like the feeling of being stuck at home.

This is how an entire generation of families worked it when I was growing up.

 

[blessedby3]

I would just take them to school in the morning so I could have a car. You will feel better having the car at home and he doesn't need it sitting in the parking lot. We did it for several months and I just took my DH to work in the morning and picked him up. I didn't like the feeling of being stuck at home.

This is how an entire generation of families worked it when I was growing up.

I agree with this. I would take DH and kids in the am and have the car available to you, then pick them back up in the afternoon. You never know what might come up. I wish we could do with one car! We have 4 Well, DD22 just got married last month and took hers (and the ins pymt) with her We still have 3. We live in an area where it wouldnt work for us. DH works 40 mins away, DS works 25 mins away (after school) and then there is me. I would never make it anywhere without a car...and I am constantly running errands, taking the kids to appts, etc.

 

[Pumbaa_]

What happens if someone is sick and needs an urgent DR visit? Can you DH leave school to bring sick child home or come get you to take your DD to the dr?

 

[thebeesknees]

We have one car, but live in a suburban area with a great public-transit system, so it works well for us. DH only needs the car once in a blue moon for off-site meetings, and on those days I arrange for other transportation for our kids. They go to school 11 miles away (no school bus), so I take the car for getting them to and from school. DH takes the bus/light rail to and from work. We've only had one car the entire 11 years we've been married and I can only think of a handful of times over the years that it's been a real inconvenience due to a scheduling conflict. I'd say if you can swing it, give it a try for a bit and see if you can make it work, at least temporarily.

 

[kkandaj]

I would try it if I was in your shoes, at least for a little bit. I think you dropping them off everyday was a good suggestion. That way you would have the vehicle for errands, appts, etc.

We are a 2 car family, though I would love to only have one. DS and I work in opposite directions--20 miles one way for me, 45 miles the other way for him--with no public transportation. He had looked at a position in our school district (school is a mile away) and we discussed then him walking/biking to work and selling his car. (His pay would've decreased also.) That position didn't work out, but at times, I wish it would've.

On Saturdays, dad and boys might have a little extra "bonding time" at the soccer field. They might enjoy watching other teams anyway or having a little extra one-on-one (or two) practice time with dad.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[laughinplace199]

We've only had one car for over 10 years.

DH can walk to the train to get to work. I'm a SAHM and I drive the kids to school and pick them up. I get a lot of errands done during the week, which makes the weekends easier.

My youngest is about to start kindergarten, so the kids will all be gone during the day, but I can't imagine not having access to a car with a little one at home. There were so many times when one of the kids would get sick and need to be picked up and/or taken to the dr. I also would go crazy stuck in the house all day, especially when I could be out doing errands, grocery shopping, etc.

Our weekends are still a bit crazy with three kids all in different activities, but we make it work. However, if we had to juggle all of the kids' activites AND do all the usual errands like going to the dry cleaners, grocery store, BJ's, etc. our weekends would be miserable.

 

[amomma23]

Thanks everyone! I am so glad to hear it has worked for a lot of people. I think I just had a mild panic attack when he said the guy was coming to pick up his truck tomorrow! Thanks for the suggestions. I think we're going to make it work.

 

[jgreco]

We did it for several years. At first it was hard, but then you realize how many pointless trips out you make. Like another poster mentioned there was maybe 1 or 2 times where it created a hassle. We had to purchase a second car when all 3 kids started going to 3 different schools on polar opposite ends of town (no bus service here).

 

[red712371]

My husband and I have done it for several years now. He drives me the 5 miles to work and then turns back around and goes 20 miles to his office and then comes to get me after work. It sucks when it is bad out and it takes him forever to come and get me, but I do try to be patient. I have gotten rides from a couple of people that I work with a couple of times, but I hate doing that. I could take the bus and it seriously would drop me off almost in front of each door, but hubby worries about me...not sure why! I would rather go to WDW then to have a car right now plus I'm fairly set on the car I want and would rather have what I want when I can comfortably afford it then to settle and not be able to do something fun once a year.

 

[bumbershoot]

It only works for us because I'm the one who has the car with me. When we first went down to one, this wasn't true, but I live in walking distance of everything I need. Stores, coffee, library, etc. Soon after we went to one car, though, DH got a job that allowed him to use public transit, and I like that better.


In your situation, I would hold on to the money for a little bit. A month, for example. Just put it aside and see what it's like with the one car. If everyone can stand it for that month, THEN use the money for the other things.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

We couldn't do it. My husband has crazy hours, never knows when he'll be off work and we have two toddlers I'd have to wake up at crazy hours to have car access. No way.

We have friends who do it though, I just would lose my sanity.

 

[DawnM]

We could not do it unless we were to move closer to the train station. I run the kids all over the place and DH works very long hours sometimes.

 

[lilpig]

Right now our family has one vehicle,my husband rides to work with my father and I take the kids to school then go to work myself. That has worked for a few years. However are schedules are becoming more hectic as the children become older and want to be in more activities and my husband coaches youth football(2 different teams).

We still have one car I have been fortunate enough to get a job with in walking distance. So on days were my dad can not drive and we can not use his car I and the kids can walk.

Recently though we have started talking about getting another car because my daughter is taking college courses along with her high school courses and her ride might not always be able to go. Also it seems she always has somewhere to be now!!

 

[encinc]

We've done it for nearly all of our sixteen years of marriage. I say nearly because we had two cars for ten months while friends were out of the country and we were car-sitting for them. We weren't sure about agreeing to the car-sitting because we were afraid that we'd get used to having a second vehicle and then would miss it terribly when our friends took it back.

Turns out that wasn't the case. The second car was nice to have, but it was more of a convenience than a necessity for us. DH and I work for the same company (in different buildings on the same campus). We work about five miles from home. Our hours are both flexible. I work 3 days a week at the moment. Most days we drive in together. DH rides his bicycle often, and if the weather isn't good I drive him in on the days I have off. He took the bus fairly often when we lived in our old house and the bus stop was about 200 yards from our house. Since we moved and the bus stop is now about a 10 minute walk away, he's relied more heavily on taking cabs. We figure that the cost of a cab once or twice a week is a whole lot less than the cost of a second vehicle.

Getting our kids to all their activities with only one car is a bit tricky, but we make it work. We're hoping that we can continue the single vehicle lifestyle for a while longer. As our boys (currently 9 and 7) get older, it may be trickier, but for now, the extra money is awfully nice to have.

 

[leahjade]

This is how an entire generation of families worked it when I was growing up.

My mom had 3 kids and NEVER had a car while we were growing up and we all survived in the suburbs. How times have changed that when you suggest it now, people think it's the end of the world! Often money can be spent better other places or it is a financial necessity for some people.