Sometimes, not having an easy way to get to the mall can be a good thing
Age: 25
Location: San Francisco, Calif.
Occupation: Media Account Manager, online advertising company
I didn't think twice about bringing my car when I moved to San Francisco from Stockton in 2006. Street parking was easy in my neighborhood, and I wanted to be able to visit my family back home in Los Molinos, CA. But eventually I decided to move closer to my office downtown, and having a car was a problem. Finding an apartment was easier than finding an affordable parking spot! The lot at the end of my block wanted $300 a month, and there was no way I was going to pay that on top of the $60 a month I was already spending on gas. Working around it wasn't really much of an option, either: Downtown, meters cost $3.50 per hour, and public parking lots are $16 a day, minimum.
So I gave my car back to my parents. They'd given it to me when I was in college; now it's theirs again. I walk to work most mornings and pay $55 for a monthly Muni pass to get around the city. I signed up for Zipcar, too, which costs $30 a year, plus $10 an hour each time I borrow a car. I only use it once or twice a month for an hour at a time, but it's nice to know that a car is available if I need it. It turns out that's actually helped me spend less overall. Now I have to plan ahead and reserve a car before I can take a big shopping trip. Those impromptu Target runs, where I'd easily spend $50 or more each time, had been more frequent and expensive than I realized.
There are still times when I miss having my own car, and I do feel like I've given up a certain degree of independence. On the other hand, sometimes I felt like I was moving my car to avoid parking tickets more than I was actually driving anywhere, and I don’t miss that at all.
Slow down, leadfoot! And other ways to keep car expenses under control:
- $200 in parking tickets busted my budget
- Space: The final frontier to issue speeding tickets
- Giving up my clunker for a life of public transit
- Yes, you can borrow my car. No, you can't take it to Mexico
- I was dying to own a car. Ten years and 176,000 miles later, I couldn't wait to get rid of that 4WD moneysuck
