Living Car Free - New to car free life.

I just decided a couple weeks ago that I didn't need a car anymore. I haven't driven the one I own in months, and it's a peice of crap anyway. I've been riding for years, but only now do I see the many rewards it brings. Anyway, I just wanted to know if you guys had any tips for a person who is new to this lifestyle. Also, I'm trying to live a more simple, efficient life. Anything you guys have to contribute to that would be great as well.

- Guacam0le

If you have a bloat load of debt as I did at one time, begin making large payments to become debt free. I found it nearly impossible to become debt free with a motorcar draining me of every last cent. My savings were nonexistant.

It will amaze you how much money you can save now that your're car free. I've never had cash in my life and I kick myself at all the years wasted supporting an engine that spent 95% of its life rusting on the street.

Scan the forum threads to see specific tips. You can skip the more political threads. If you have specific questions, use the search feature first, then just ask. It should be easier in Germany than in the U.S.. There are also "simple life" threads in this forum. Most topics are usually weighted toward U.S. problems but I for one would like to read about how things are in other countries.

would you consider $12k a lot of debt? My wife still has her car (unfortunately), and the rest is damned credit card debt. I'll be happy if i never see another credit card again.

Scan the forum threads to see specific tips. You can skip the more political threads. If you have specific questions, use the search feature first, then just ask. It should be easier in Germany than in the U.S.. There are also "simple life" threads in this forum. Most topics are usually weighted toward U.S. problems but I for one would like to read about how things are in other countries.

Well, I'm not REALLY in Germany. My wife is in the military, so we live with a bunch of Americans. I love Europe, but miss the states. One of the best things around here is the abundance of people who don't have a car. I live on a military base, so I don't see it as much as I would living off base, but if you go out on a warm Sunday afternoon, you can see what seems to be an infinite amount of people on bikes. People of all kinds. Some of them are incredibly fit, too. I've been smoked by a few guys that could easily have been three times my age.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have the a lot of the typical U.S. problems, and in the near future, I will have more (we're leaving Europe in a couple years).

would you consider $12k a lot of debt? My wife still has her car (unfortunately), and the rest is damned credit card debt. I'll be happy if i never see another credit card again.

I had 15K in credit credit debt before realizing I was working for everyone but myself and it took over 4 years to pay it all off. Yes, 12K is a lot of debt so the calendar will say 2010 or 2011 if you cut them up today. The interest on the 12K will probably add an additional 3k making the whole total around 15K! In other words, you'll have to dedicate about 20K in gross earnings to pay off this debt. Now you see the damage credit cards can do to you.

I suspect, a good portion of this credit card debt was due to your motor dependant lifestyle. When I had a motorcar, my discretionary income in the begining was enough to cover the costs of the vehicle. However, I still wanted a lifestyle since what use is a car without money to do anything with? If I didn't have the car, I would have been able to afford the things I wanted without taking out the cards. However, it got so bad, I had to use the cards to pay off parking tickets, groceries, gas and repairs. I end up spending a good 10 years of my life in debt.

Now that you're carfree, it's time to become debt free. Both go hand in hand. The four years will go by fast. One of the best days of my life was sending in the final check for my last credit card payment.

Thanks Dahon. I hope I can do this before 10 years comes up. Most of the debt I am in now is because I didn't have enough money for furniture and thought that I needed to buy the best stuff around. That was a mistake. I plan on spending a lot of time in second hand stores soon.