We are very blessed, living in Flagstaff that things are not too far apart. You can drive through the whole town in about thirty minutes depending on the traffic of our busiest street, Milton.
Deciding to be a one car family was not one that we made in a day. My husband and I slowly realized that our two sedans were not large enough for our ever growing family (at the time, two dogs and various foster children)
Slowly we came to the decision to trade in our two cars for one larger SUV. We did a lot of research and in October of 2016 we purchased a single, larger vehicle. Being a one car family is a big step, but with a little planning, it’s totally doable!
Here’s what else you need to know:
1. It’s sustainable.
According to U.S Energy the average American car releases 6 tons of carbon dioxide every year. I don’t know about you, but I try to destroy the planet as little as possible. You might think, ‘if you only have one car, aren’t you driving twice as much?’. You’d be surprised how that isn’t really the case.
2. Open communication is a must!
We discuss our travel day every day because our schedules are equally important. Also, we decide before we go out if there is anywhere else extra we need to do or go. And we don’t get all the way home just to decide that we need to go to the grocery store. When one of us has a special event we make it work. Very rarely we have completely opposite schedules that don’t allow us to share the car.
3. You’ll have better time management.
My husband and I leave for work at the same time. As a teacher, once I’m at school, I stay at school. I have a set schedule every. My husband is a social worker. His schedule is flexible. But we still have to base our day on the other’s schedule. That includes once we’re in town. We accommodate to whomever needs to be wherever, earlier. We have to plan to leave at the same time and then the driver for the day needs to be there to pick the other up!
4. It’s cheaper!
We had one car with better gas mileage than the other, so we drove that car more often, leading to more needed maintenance. It got expensive! Replacing your car tires is enough without needing to do it twice! Factor in routine maintenance, registration and gas and it became hard to keep up. We weren’t broke. We did ok. But when the choice is between more money or less money, we wanted to spend on things we cared about, not just bills.
5. It’s an easy transition
I’m not saying go out today and sell your “extra” cars. This won’t work for everyone. Some days my husband will chose to ride his bike because it gives him a little more travel freedom and he enjoys it. My husband rode his bike today, even though he could have taken the car. If you can be flexible, if you and your partner don’t have opposite schedules, if your children don’t have 20 after school activities at different locations – lots of if’s. But here is the big one; If you can be flexible you can do this. You can make this transition and be a little better.
