I downsized my ride a bit — from an $11,000 Ford Focus to a $48 pair of Toms. If that’s not frugal, I don’t know what is.
In case you were unaware, I avoid driving as much as possible. I have anxiety issues around being in vehicles, which makes sense, as they are decidedly the most dangerous form of transportation. However, I have had a car for the past 8+ years, from age 16 until March 27, 2014, when I signed the paperwork to sell my vehicle and officially go car-less.
How It Started
We’ve been thinking about ditching the car since we moved to Portland. Living downtown, it’s just really unnecessary. On top of that, it was a pain in the ass to park and getting rid of the debt associated with it sounded super appealing. We tossed the idea around for months, and decided in December to finally take the plunge into a car-less lifestyle.
The first thing we did was get a balance transfer offer for the difference between the car’s value and the amount we owed. It’s not ideal to shift some of the debt to credit cards, but a 0% balance transfer is far superior to paying monthly until the car wasn’t upside down anymore, especially considering its rapid depreciation. Then, it was time to list…
As many of you know, we were a bit preoccupied with more important things in January, so we didn’t list the car until February. After an entire month with no serious inquiries (there are A LOT of Ford Focuses for sale in our area), we decided to go another route.
Knowing the Right People
When all else fails, it really rocks to know people who can help you out. For us, that would be the fine buyers at the car dealership Steve works at. Obviously, this isn’t an option for everyone (without purchasing a car to replace the one they’re buying), but it worked for us, so I’ll take it.
Just a few days ago, I signed the car over to the dealership once and for all, canceled our insurance, and did a little happy dance.
I’m really excited if you can’t tell, to the confusion of many of my family members and peers. Because adulthood means acquiring more, not less, right? However, now I have a bunch of extra money to go towards debt and Chipotle, so I’m pretty freaking thrilled.
The Transportation Plan
As a hermit troll work-at-home freelancer, I rarely need to go anywhere that isn’t within walking distance, so I’m covered. As for Steve, we live two blocks away from the train that drops him off directly at work. A monthly public transportation pass costs just $100, over $400 less what we were paying to operate our vehicle each month.
Bye, Bye Car Debt!
With the sale of the car, we dropped approximately $10,500 worth of debt. In a single day. By selling an “asset” we didn’t really need. And this, my friends, is what we call a win.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go happy dance some more. And then eat Chipotle. Happy Monday!
[Images from TOMS & imgur]
