Owning a personal vehicle such as a car, truck, van, SUV, or motorcycle has become a way of life for practically ever adult American. We use our cars to get to work, to drive to church, to go pickup groceries, to drop off the kids, you name it, and we’re driving there. The average American vehicle puts on about 5,000 miles per year. We’re doing a lot of driving, and we’re paying for it too! New automobiles cost about $20,000 and lose half of their value in the first few years of ownership. On top of fuel, oil, speeding tickets and maintenance costs, this can be rather expensive. Many think that it’s practically impossible to live without a vehicle today in the hustle and bustle of modern urban life, but it is possible.

So how is it done? You have to be creative, very creative. You won’t own a car, but I bet you know someone who does. Your friends have to go shopping too. Ask them if you can go with them next time they hit up Wal-Mart, and this way you don’t have to drive! If you have a job that’s somewhat of a distance away from your home, ask one of your coworkers if they’d drive you, you can offer them a bit of scratch for their troubles.

When other people aren’t around to drive you, there are still options. Most of us have legs that work, so why not walk? It might be a mile or two away from where you want to go, but we need the exercise. For distances of more than a mile and less than ten, pickup a bicycle. We all know how to ride them, yet very few of us do. When you are moving, you should be conscience as to where your home or apartment is relative to a business district. You should try to love close to one so that your walks are not quite as long. Most major metropolitan areas also have bus systems or subways for people needing transportation. If not, there’s always the trusty taxicab.

There are actually a great number of benefits from living without a vehicle. You will get more exercise because you are walking a lot more. You will also save all kinds of money by not having an Automobile. You’ll save your car payment, which averages about $300 a month, insurance which is another $50 a month, gasoline which is another $50 a month. There’s maintenance, auto repairs, and speeding tickets which are no longer a problem too. You’ll easily save $500 a month by not having a car!