"Yes, my wife and I share a car, I guess it is pretty eco-friendly now that you mention it," Mr Burrito Bowl.

"Um, I just asked if I could take your order," Taco Bell guy.

My wife and I have shared one car since February of 2017.  It’s been pretty easy, I like it.  Before you go out and sell your second (or third) car it hasn’t been all high fives and make-out sessions.  Our alarm rings every weekday at 5:30 in the morning.  This gives us time to wake up and have coffee and for my wife to have breakfast.  She has to be at work at 7am.  Being as how we only have one car it’s my job to drive her to work.

After I drop her off I come back home and get ready for my day. Hours pass, like they do, and I find myself picking her back up from work.  The commute to pick her up at the end of the day takes a lot longer because HWY 217 in Portland is constantly in a rush hour state. Naturally, picking her up during actual rush hour means for lots of clowns and their clown cars.

We do this four days per week. Now that I think about it it really isn’t all that easy or convenient, but we do it.  We do it partly because we don’t really have room for a second car at our apartment, but mostly we do it because we don’t want to pay for things on two cars.

A Pro, A Con, and A Podcast

One nice feature of having only one car is we get to spend a lot more time together stuck in traffic.  Having a partner to be stuck in traffic with makes the commute more enjoyable.  Every once in a while when Jill sees a car do something dumb and she calls them a ‘bag of dicks’ my heart just fills to the brim.

I don’t think about the hours and hours that I’ve spent in the car, above and beyond my normal workday, that would be avoided if we had a second car.  I could see it being really disheartening if I added them all up.  Honestly, writing this article has made me see why other people say just having one car would not work for them.

I fill my extra commute time with podcasts though so it never feels like my time is wasted.  A big reason people hate commutes is because it feels like wasted time that they’ll never get back.  Learning about something makes me a lot more relaxed than just listening to music.

Even if it’s just a story podcast that has no real benefit I find I don’t mind traffic nearly as much when my mind is engaged.

One Car. One Dream.

Our car is a 2009 Honda Fit with a reconstructed title.  It’s not fancy and looks even less fancy than most Honda Fits because it’s filled to the brim with my various construction tools.  I get a small amount of joy every time I pull up to the construction site with my Mario Kart inspired periwinkle chick magnet.  If only I had this ride back in my single days.

Hey girl...How would you like to efficiently get to where you're going? Yeah, it's got 4-cylinders. Over 30mpg. Six cup holders too *wink* - Me, to flocks of women if I had this car back when I was single

At work I’m constantly surrounded by enormous trucks, each bigger than the last.  My car usually goes up to about their bumpers.  It’s way easier to park though.

The guys around the job site say things like, “Nice go-kart.  Do they make it for boys?” and I say things like “You need to be done installing millwork by Friday.”  It’s a fun relationship we have.  I don’t mind being lightly teased for my car choice because I know my paychecks are going to things like retirement accounts and their paychecks are going to things like paying for their huge trucks.

The older I get the less embarrassed I am for doing things differently than most people.

Partly I’m less embarrassed because I’m becoming more like my father.  He loves to embarrass himself with his outfit choices while simultaneously being the only one in the room not even slightly embarrassed by the way he wears his pants.  I’m starting to see the allure in this mode of thinking.  The other reason I don’t mind being different than most people is because most people are morons, especially in the construction industry.

My wife has it easier because she’s a nurse and nurses tend to be surrounded by coworkers who are more sophisticated than your average construction worker.  So she doesn’t catch as much flack. Still, she is not immune to people wanting to lend a helping hand to get us out of our dire life situation of only owning one car.

Jill's coworker: *Pulling Jill aside* Hey, I have a friend selling a car for only $500 and I thought about you guys! Is that too much?

Her coworker had watched as I dropped my wife off every day for a year.  She assumed no normal people with 500 spare dollars would choose to live this way.

I’m still filled with pride, and a realization that we probably don’t give off the best first impression, every time I think about that interaction

I don’t know why it surprised me, but it did.  My emotions were conflicted. I was proud that we were living so frugally that my humble and destitute wife was thought to be in such need that a car of $500 was our ceiling, and only hope.

I was also a little indignant because we could afford a car 100x that expensive if we wanted to be your average dummy people.  We both have steady jobs, we live far below our means, and I eat cup-o-noodle soup several times per week.  Is it really that strange of a life choice to purposely function on a single non-fancy yet reliable car?

Her coworker also may have overheard my wife talking about how we live above a garage. Also, she packs a lunch most of the time. Ok, never mind. I am starting to see why this lady thought it was her civic duty to let us in on the chance to purchase a $500 car.

Well, I wouldn’t NOT take a meal…

While we don’t want to spend money on a second car we are always taking food donations. No dishes that can be described as a casserole, though.  Look, people want to give to those less fortunate and apparently having only one car qualifies us.  Who am I to take away their good deed by admitting we just don’t want a second car?

Fun Fact: Did you know some families not only have two cars but actually have more cars than they have people who can drive? HA!

I didn’t believe it either but it’s true.  I  knew a guy who owned three cars.  He complained that there just wasn’t room at the end of the month to invest. He didn’t even live above a garage.  Some people.

Sometimes I feel bad for those multi-car families.  Especially when they are struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month.

Do you really need leather, a fancy backup camera, or a dashboard without lots of warning lights going off?!

Anyway, having only one car has given us many fond memories.  Mostly car related memories.  Or memories of not having a car payment.  I think that’s one of my favorite memories of only having one car.  Every month I think about how I’m not spending any money on a car payment.

It’s pretty idyllic, really.  Everyday I get to drop off and pick up my wife from work.  We always talk about how lucky we are because not everyone gets to carpool like we do.

Related:

8 Ways We’re Purchasing a Vehicle with Financial Independence in Mind

Purchasing a Vehicle with Financial Independence in Mind- Part II

“Hell, Yeah Give me the Off Road Tires,” Mr. Burrito Bowl Almost Buys a Truck

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