I saved $4700 by living without a car for a year.

This is the story of how for over a year and a half (back in 2017/2018) I managed to live without a car and save a heck of a lot of money doing it. Back then, I'd been tempted to try living without a car since I recorded an #awkwardmoneychat episode about it wayyyy back in 2014. (It's no longer on Youtube and instead lives in my secret vault.) Honestly, car-free living never seemed doable in a “car city” like Atlanta, but be careful what you put out into the universe. Before I knew it, the opportunity for living without a car presented itself, although not in the way I expected.

Many may not know this, but back in November 2017 (on the night before I left for my very first influencer trip for Barclay/Uber Visa Card) I got into a bad car accident.

I was rear-ended at a very high speed by a driver not paying attention when we braked to let the car in front of us make a left turn. The driver in the oncoming car was distracted by a fight with his girlfriend and easily hit us at 40 to 50 miles per hour. Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt, but it completely totaled my vehicle…and left me with a lingering creaky hip I can't seem to shake, but that's another story!

That's the abbreviated version. But the point of this post is to tell you what came after I lost my car, why I made the decision not to replace it for a year, what I learned during that 14-month period, and how much I managed to save.

Living Without a Car: Frequently Asked Questions

Why did you ultimately decide to live car-free?

I started a new full-time job back in August 2017, and I was already using MARTA to get to and from work. The train was such a better, faster commute than driving. Since I'd already drastically reduced my car time after taking the job, by the time of the accident two months later, I was only using my car three or four times a week for errands and the like.

At first, with the holidays coming up and a bunch of travel on the schedule (the accident was on November 17 – Thanksgiving and Christmas followed shortly thereafter), I decided to just get through the next six weeks. I hoped that by the first of the year, I'd know how much I was going to receive as a settlement and be in a better place (mentally) to shop for a car.

I had been injured in the accident and wasn't feeling my best, and I knew I could put the decision off for a bit. After six weeks of living without a car, I found I rather enjoyed cutting costs by not having the hassle of a monthly car payment, car insurance, and car maintenance. So I decided to just keep my car-free lifestyle going!

How did you get around without a car?

• Using public transportation
• Ubers and Lyfts
• Borrowing a car at times (mostly from my live-in partner.)
• Cutting down on short trips 30 to 45 minutes out of town
• Alternative forms of transportation. My then-partner bought a Segway as a Black Friday treat the Thanksgiving before. It never got much use until after the accident, and then I began riding it around everywhere. (You may have seen it on my Instagram stories!).

Was living without a car in a city like Atlanta difficult?

Not at all. Uber and Lyft have really changed the game. I was always able to go almost anywhere I needed to in town. Even though I have a car now, I still prefer to have someone drive me when “going out” to most places, so I don't have to fuss with parking.

99% of the time, I'm able to get a ride-share car at any time of the day (or night)!

But again, my job was very close to where I lived, which is not the case for most people in Atlanta. (Although if you can, you should consider it – being commute-free will CHANGE YOUR EFFING LIFE.)

My world did shrink. For about a year, I really only lived within the 20-mile radius of our Midtown apartment building, my downtown office building, and the barre studio I frequent.

Was it frustrating to miss my friend's kid's first birthday because Rich had the car that day? Yes, but for the most part, I really didn't mind.

But in many ways, my car-free lifestyle made life a lot simpler. And cheaper.

How much did you save living without a car?

OK, let's talk turkey.

Total monthly costs included $42.50 a month for my MARTA pass to get to and from work. Work didn't reimburse me for this, but it allowed me to save a portion of my paycheck pretax to offset the cost.

I also was living with my then-husband and he had a car, which I borrowed a lot when he wasn't using it. He also could walk to work, so we became a one-car family and this was fine for us. This cut down on my need for Ubers.

My Uber trips went up drastically after my then-husband started a new job and began commuting 45 minutes each way.

Here's a sexy Excel image of what my transportation costs were like living without a car.

I took the average expenses from my Mint.com account, so these are pretty accurate.

Is taking an Uber cheaper than a monthly car payment?

This calculation depends on how often you need to drive and the distances you go when you take Uber. For me, taking Uber's cost about $200 less than paying a car payment plus insurance. I live in a highly walkable neighborhood, and technically while I lived car-free, our household was a “one-car family” because my live-in partner allowed me to use his car sometimes.

However, post-pandemic, now that many people work from home, Ubering may be cheaper than keeping a car.

Is it cheaper to live without a car?

Yes, it is cheaper to live without a car. You'll save money each month by not having a car payment, but it helped me save money on car insurance, maintenance, and gas as well. Just eyeballing the numbers above, I saved about $340 each month by living a car-free lifestyle and not having a vehicle to pay for or maintain.

Ultimately, I saved $4,760 over 14 months by not having a car.

Obviously, this is a nice chunk of change. It came in handy while we were paying for our wedding, buying our first home together, and saving for our honeymoon.

Is it possible to live without a car?

• It is possible for any couple with one working vehicle to become a one-car family with a little strategic planning. This is if you live in an area where ride-share is available and there are a handful of public transportation options, such as the bus or train. It also helps to have a train or bus stop close to the places you need to go.
• I think for others (single or in a relationship), it depends on whether you live in a major metro area where mass transit is available and if you work from home.
• If you work from home, try saving trips by “batching” your errands into one round-trip Uber ride or by renting a Zipcar.
• I don't have a family, so I'm not sure how feasible it is to get around without a car if you have children.

Ultimately, I think it's possible for anyone to live without a car if you're willing to get creative with how they get to and from places.

And for people who say Uber or Lyft is too expensive, I say poo-poo. Car ownership is expensive. Financing a car is even more so. With just my car payment and insurance, I was paying more than $400 per month just to have a car. Do you know how many Ubers you can take for that amount?

Where can you live without a car?

Obviously, urban areas are better than rural ones when you're living without a car. But that doesn't mean it can only be done in a big city. You can find additional information here:

• How to Decide if You Can Live Without a Car (LifeHacker)
• 15 U.S. Cities Where It's Easiest to Live Without a Car (AOL.com)
• 10 Cities You Can Retire in Without a Car (The Street)
• Reflecting on One Year Without a Car (Millennial Boss)

How to Get Around Without a Car: My Tips

• Utilize public transit. MARTA in Atlanta has a bad reputation (it really doesn't go many places), but the more I used it, the more appreciative I became of all it has to offer. Ask yourself, are preconceived notions about public transit are keeping you from experiencing cost savings.
• Invest in good shoes, and try walking to places that are within walking distance.
• Ride a bike to your destination.
• Don't be afraid to bum a ride. Graciously accept rides when offered, and don't be afraid to ask if you know someone is going somewhere at the same time you're going.
• Not only does sharing rides promote time for talking, but it's also better for the environment. (And to Sarah, Shelby, Esther, and Rachel, who gave me a lot of rides over the 14 months I'm talking about in this post, please know I'm so appreciative!)

What to do When You’re Ready to Buy a Car

Maybe you get the taste of the car-free lifestyle and decide to say f*ck it to living without a car forever. Or, maybe you move to the suburbs, have a baby, or change cities, and now you can't get around as easily without your own set of wheels. For me, that time came when we moved from an apartment into a house in a neighborhood that wasn't as walkable, but I was still proud of how long I was able to make it without a car. I never dreamed six weeks would've turned into fourteen months. But if you want to buy a car, here's some of my best advice below.

Shop around for your auto loan

If you’re going to finance a loan for a car instead of buying one outright, you’ll need to shop for an auto loan. And yes, don't just go to your bank. You shop loans for interest rates in the same way you do when shopping for an interest rate for a home.

• You should find out if you pre-qualify even before you begin saving. We like using LendingTree but sites like kbb.com and even your bank can help you get a loan so you don’t have to rely on one from the dealership. You’d be surprised how many people forget to do this step!
• And just like any other type of loan, your credit score will dictate what kind of interest rates you’ll get with a car loan. Just a 1% difference in rates could save you thousands over the life of owning the car.
• Lower interest rates mean more money saved, lower monthly payments, and a better ability to continue to save for other goals (like car maintenance, a house, or that trip to Paris).

While you’re working on saving money, do a check on your credit score. This will ensure you get the best rate possible when you shop for rates. If your score isn’t that high, take this time to work at getting a better credit score so that when you are ready for that car loan, you can get the best rates and save as much money as you can on that car loan. Click here to check your loan for free. 

When is the best time to buy a car?

If you’re going to a dealership to buy a car, experts say the best time to shop is early in the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) but late in the month (last week of the month), and/or late in the year (October, November, December) or end of the quarter (March, June September, December).

These are the times that most dealerships are trying to reach sale quotas. Also….

• Early in the week is when it’s usually not that busy (as compared to the weekend when everyone goes!)
• It’s also a good time to shop for deals closer to the holidays.
• If the end of the year won’t work for you, experts say try to time your purchase around other major national holidays like President’s Day, Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, or the 4th of July when dealerships tend to offer deals and specials.

In Conclusion

When saving up for a big purchase like a car, it pays to be persistent and not get discouraged by the high price. Saving for a car, much like saving for a house, takes time and doesn’t happen quickly. However, once you’re driving around in your new-to-you car, you’ll be happy your persistence paid off. 

And here's the end of my story: I took the money from the settlement, plus some of the funds from the sale of my first home (you can read about that here), and bought a car outright in cash because I didn't want a car payment. Five years later, post-divorce and with a kiddo to tow around, I'm still driving that car and it serves me well.