Cars and Money

It’s that time of year again: my car license renewal arrives in the mail and I wonder if I should even own the thing.

OK, so it’s only happened twice with this particular car, given that I bought it in 2013. But whenever I do own a car – about 50% of my adult life – I spend a good chunk of the time wondering why I own it.

The problem isn’t the car. It’s a cute black SmartCar with less than 35,000 miles on it.

download

The problem is that I drive it maybe twice a month. Is it really worth paying insurance ($35 month since I hardly drive it), license ($75 a year, $85 if I miss the renewal deadline), gas and depreciation for that kind of use? Would I rather have the car, or the several thousand dollars I could get by selling it?

The only place I drive to that I can’t easily get to on the bus line or by walking is the fabric store. Do I really need to go to the fabric store?

Check out Eric the Quilter’s blog for more fabric-addiction e-cards.

I’m off to CarMax to get it appraised today. Then I can decide if I want to sell it to them, do a private sale, or keep it because it’s so darn cute.

0 thoughts on “Cars and Money”

  1. I just had to say that I am so incredibly jealous that you only drive your car once or twice a month! Definitely wish I could say that - just today Boyfriend and I were having a discussion about how I wouldn't mind just not having a car at all, but unfortunately we (currently, at least) live too far from anything...Reply
    • I am fortunate! I live in a pretty densely populated area, and though we definitely don't have the best transit system, I live fairly close to three or four different bus routes so it's not bad. I got this car after an injury that made it harder to get around, but that's been improving so i don't rely on it as much as I used to. So the question is whether I'm willing to give up the "convenience" -- which I put in quotes because it's also convenient to have more money!Reply

Leave a comment

%d bloggers like this: