Well, we did it. Sarah and I decided last Monday (July 6th) to go an entire week using only one car. Why would we do such a thing? The reasons are varied but all focus around us attempting to determine if we could live as a one-car family. We would do this to:
- Sell my car to help pay off Sarah's car.
- Save money every month on petrol.
- Save money on car insurance.
- Attempt to reduce our effect on the environment.
- Slow down (less busy = better life IMHO).
- Spend more time together (this was an added benefit that I hadn't even considered until we did it. My workdays start better and end better when I get to be with Sarah for 10 minutes at the open and close of business)
How did it go? In a word, AWESOME! There were a couple of times when not being able to take our separate cars created a bit of extra stress as we tried to rush out the door to get to work on time. However, on the whole, it really wasn't that hard and I LOVED the things it did to my quality of life. For example, not having a car meant that I could not drive somewhere for lunch. What did I do, instead? I ate leftovers at the office and walked over to a cafe to enjoy reading Harry Potter. It was relaxing and helped me come back to work energized for the second part of the day. I found that my whole week was more slow-paced which, as you all know, I LOVE! Sarah and I did have to do a better job of planning (packing lunches, errands run, leaving for work earlier, etc.) but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Additionally, we are hoping to save the money because we want to get to a place financially where we can live off of just one income so that we are ready when we start growing our family. Granted, we know that the Lord will provide whenever (if-ever) He chooses to give us children, but it's not a bad idea to try to be as ready as possible when that arrives.
Also, as Chelsea can attest, carpooling with your spouse is fun and a whole lot better than the alternative. I enjoyed the time in the car with Sarah.
So, there you go...the Johnsons...well on our way to being a one-car family!
2 comments:
Great post Jimbo! I agree. I love carpooling. Last week Stephen drove separately 3 or 4 days. We got to the point where it felt like we hadn't seen each other all week. (Granted our commute is about 40 minutes so we have more time in the car.) We are mostly a one car family. Haven't gotten rid of our second because there is always at least one day each week that we need it.
I'm glad you guys had a good experience going to 1 car. John and I have only had 1 car since we got married (with the exception of about 1-2 weeks before his BMW died). I honestly don't have any idea what it would be like to have 2 cars at this point. Granted, we walk to work (we live less than 10 minutes from work - I'm a little further away than John is) and we meet back home for lunch, but still, two cars? I don't know what we'd do!! That being said, we'll probably cave when we get back to the States and get 2 cars. John will be going to school, and I will be working, so I know we'll have vastly different schedules.
Post a Comment