Joe loves cars so much, he gave his up
Age: 37
Location: Baltimore, Md.
Occupation: Journalist
Goal: Save for a Porsche
Joe Eaton has always loved cars—especially the fast and vintage kind. Back in high school, he drove a 1966 Plymouth Belvedere, one of the quickest rides on the student lot. He now writes a blog devoted to hot rodding, and he dreams of one day owning a classic Porsche 911 for Sunday fun. But these days his enjoyment is entirely vicarious: Alas, for the moment, Joe is without wheels.
When he and his wife, Me-Kyung Hong, moved to Baltimore in 2007, they ditched their Volvo and decided to give themselves over to public transportation. Joe did this with an eye toward that Porsche. He pulled some numbers from AAA to calculate how much they’d save on average by commuting by train, bus, and bicycle, rather than by, say, a newer Camry: around $2,900 each year. “It’s not just the cost of buying a car,” he says of auto expenses. “It’s the cost of maintenance, insurance, and depreciation.” Since the switch, they’ve been squirreling that savings away for future spending. He’s already saved up enough money to buy one of the more affordable used Porsche models. A car, he says, is “illogical” for commuting, but it’s “great as a hobby or a plaything.”
Living sans auto has been easier than they expected. Me-Kyung, who’s from Korea, never bothered to learn how to drive. “I tried to teach her once,” Joe says with a laugh, “and it almost ended our marriage.” As for Joe, he says he’d rather drive nothing than drive something boring. And besides, with each passing month he’s able to afford a nicer Porsche. “It keeps getting bigger and bigger,” he says of their fund. “For someone else, it might be the down payment on a house.”
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