Hi Caitlin, I’m lucky enough to be within walking/cycling distance of work so share a car with my boyfriend. It works out pretty well.
A vespa would be a good compromise, I have a motorbike (for lazy days) and the repair/running costs are a heck of lot less!

I would definitely go for it- it sounds like you’re in the perfect situation to do it, and it makes a lot of sense. My husband and I shared a car from time to time, and that’s when we were both working full time- it’s not bad, just takes a bit of coordinating! You can always make a savings account for an emergency car purchase down the road if you change your minds 😉

We’re the absolute opposite of a one-car family (6 cars, 4 drivers…my dad and brother both have their “fun” cars, which I think is soooo stupid and unnecessary), but my BF’s family has 3 cars for 5 drivers and his mom loves it because she’s forced to manage her time well and get all her errands done at once. She says it’s made her much more organized!! Charlotte doesn’t get too cold, so I definitely think you guys could make do with one car…less insurance, less gas, less stress…sounds like a good idea!!

We’re a one car family and it works really well for us. We didn’t own a car when we lived in DC, but basically had to get one when we moved to a much less pedestrian-friendly city. I don’t think I’ve ever wished that we had two cars. Occasionally, one of us has to take an inconvenient/especially long bus ride when we having overlapping appointments, but that’s not too much of a hassle and it’s environmentally friendly! You might find yourself taking the bus even when you could drive. There’s something relaxing about not driving. We’ve talked about getting a second car when we have kids…you might want to consider when you’re planning to have children when you think about whether or not to drop to one car.

It sounds like you could do it very easily. Especially since you work from home and your husband can ride his bike/scooter to work. You can still leave during the day if you need because you’ll have the car and he will be at work!

We’ve been a one-car family for about four years now. We live in Philly, so it’s not unusual at all to have one (or no!) cars. I work exactly 1.17 miles from home (ran it with the Garmin one day!) and I walk. My husband either takes the train to work, whenever possible, or drives when necessary. Everything is within walking distance for us — and when you live in a city, the definition of “walking distance” really expands.

You just have to consider the fact that sometimes winter weather in Charlotte can get nasty (icy/snow) and one of you may be trapped at home with only one car.

We live in a city and have no car. It is something that we have to work around, but because it saves us so much (and is environmentally responsible) it really works well for us. Friends of ours (married couple, no kids) are a one car household and love it.
It can be done if you want to do it. I might take some planning or logistical forethought, but it can be done. I say go for it!

We’re not a one car family because that just wouldn’t work for us – the hubs and I work really conflicting schedules sometimes, there is no form of public transportation here, and nothing is within walking distance. I definitely second taken the weather there into consideration and also thinking about how that will work when you have kids.

We went to a one car family a bit over a year ago. When we did this my husband and I were both able to walk to work I promptly got a different job that did not allow me to walk anymore, but it still works. Even if you have to go back to two after a bit it is nice to only worry about the one car for a while. We are in Albany NY, which is not a crazy metro area where you can truly go car-less, but we don’t regret it at all.

We are a one car family. We save a ton on gas, insurance, car payments, car repairs,etc. If I am home and my husband has the car I will bike or walk to wherever I need to go. I would say go for it!!

I think it sounds like you could handle it.

With where we live and how far we have to drive to get to things we definitely need both of our cars. I remember when my car was broken and I was basically trapped at the house all day while my husband was at work. Made me feel very claustrophobic! Which is weird for someone who struggles with agoraphobia at times.

I’m so jealous. I would love to be a one car family! We’re not in walking distance of work for either of us, but if we were I’d get rid of a car for sure. Especially with the oil spill, I’m so disgusted with how dependent we are on fossil fuels!

Well we are a no-car family and it works out fine. Himself doesn’t even have a driving licence!

From what I understand it is probably easier to do in the UK (especially a bike friendly city like Cambridge) than in the US and likewise I admit it isn’t a choice that everyone is ready to make but it has been a thousand times easier to do than you’d think. When you have no other way of getting somewhere than on your bike even if it is raining, then you get on your bike! Also it means I’m cycling about 50 miles a week so not only do I not have petrol/tax/insurance costs, but I don’t have to pay for the gym either!

Occassionally I have to get a cab, like when I have to get the cats to the vet for example but you can afford a lot of taxis on the money you save!

I think you’ll do just fine with one car. 🙂

Definitely and easily doable. My partner and I were one-car for about two years–we only ran into trouble maybe once or twice, when both of us actually needed to use the car at the same time, but we worked it out and were none worse for the wear. When you live that close, bicycling is also great–it’s amazing how efficient bicycles are for commuting! I live 1 mile from my work and 2.5 from school, and bicycling ends up being faster than driving. I also have a basket for mid-week small grocery shops.

One thing I loved about having just one car was that I was forced to walk and bike sometimes when I didn’t really want to–it made me slow down a bit and reevaluate my consumerism and driving (do I NEED to drive? do I NEED to go to the store?). It also helped me acquaint myself with my neighborhood very quickly–there is so much that is missed when in a car.

Sounds like for your situation, it makes sense to only have 1 car. I would also email the couple that runs http://www.younghouselove.com <–they live in Richmond, VA and only have 1 car – very frugal 🙂 I WISH we lived in a pedestrian friendly/mostly good weather community – I'd gladly give up a car, but we live in Northern, VA and I commute 45min-1hr to Tysons and my husband commutes to Bethesda, MD which is 1hr+ commute each way.

I love the commenter above who mentioned Dave Ramsey!!! I ditto her suggestion but it really comes down to how old your car is, what mileage it gets and repairs. Since it sounds like you wont be putting much mileage on the 1 car, I personally would sell the car that has the loan and keep your car since its paid off, there is no reason to have unnecessary car payments especially since I'm pretty sure your husband has school loans?

p.s. you should def read dave ramsey total money makeover and/or attend Financial Peace U. very englihgtening!

I think that’d definitely be worth it! The only thing to think about is when one of you needs to go out of town, and it’d leave the other car-less.

I’m in a one-car situation, and it works out just fine. We have good public transportation, and a lot of things are within walking distance. We also use our bikes a lot to get to and from campus. I’ve thought about getting a second car, but the cost doesn’t seem worth it right now.

That’s awesome! I really wish that we could be a one car family- but unfortunately we have a very bad transit system here in RI.. I think its great- if only every household did it, what a difference it would make! For me- the extra savings a month is worth it..

We were a one car family for about 9 years and it worked just fine for us. Work/school for both me and my husband were close enough to home that walking/dropping each other off/sharing the car wasn’t a problem at all. Even after our daughter was born, we continued to be a one car family. Sometimes it took a little work to get schedules straightened out, but I’m a stay at home mom, so it wasn’t a biggie. I just walked with my baby to the store, etc. It’s a great way to save a little cash, even for a short period of time.
We didn’t get a second car until our daughter started preschool. The thought of having to drive my husband to work before 6am every day seemed rather unappealing. Having two cars offers a great amount of freedom, but with that new found freedom, I found myself out and about much more than I should have been. And by “out and about” I mean shopping. Ahem. We saved money in more than one way by having only one car. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

My Husband and I live 1.8KM from work (We work in the same office)
We have everything around us yet, still have two cars!
We often go back and forth about it as its SO costly to have two.
Often my car sits in the drive way and we’re out with his,
Probably like 4 times a week. His car is much more expensive than mine ;(
BUT, at least once a week there is a day that we both need our cars and we would be screwed if we only had 1.
Stay with 2 if you can afford it!
Have a Nice one….and an older one (Mine’s a 2005)

We are a one car family, with 2 small children and we are more then fine with just one car. My Husband’s truck is paid off and we save a ton of money on gas and vehicle maintenance. Everything is so close here it doesn’t make sense for us to have another car, just to have one.

We do plan on buying another if we leave the area but so far it works great.

I think in your situation it is an excellent idea! For me it wouldn’t work, but I would love it if I lived close enough to my work to bike/walk. In case of severe weather like a previous commenter talked about … you could just let Hus take the car. I think that situation won’t happen often enough that you’d regret it.

since you work at home and husbands work is so close I def. think it is doable. we live out in the country and ork in opposite sides of town (I am about 20 min from work) it would never work for us, but if you can get away with it I say go for it!

We’re a no-car family, been that way for over 4 years. We’ve changed cities and public transportation isn’t always ideal, but we make it work. We always make sure to live walking distance to a grocery store, etc. We are walking distance to the movies, bars, and restaurants. The biggest problem with no car is that it doesn’t allow you to easily take weekend trips, but as long as you keep one car, that seems like it would work out fine, especially with you are working at home. On days your husband doesn’t want to walk or it’s cold, you could zip down and drop him off- probably take 2 seconds. I say go for it!

Oh, and I agree with Sara- in many ways, a car is a bigger hassle than no car. I hate driving in the city, I hate having to find parking or paying for parking at my apartment, not to mention all those other expenses. Cars are one of the only investments that do NOT appreciate, so I just hate to see that money (car payment, insurance, etc) just going out the window each month. I also recommend the rolling cart, or a basket/bags for your bike, that works great!

I think a lot of what I wanted to say has already been said.

Although one suggestion I would make is to keep your car for the first two months that you live there and ONLY use one car! See how it works, see how much money you save in gas and evaluate how you felt after only having the 1 car. I would suggest selling the hubbys car and keeping the car that is paid off, in the long term you will be saving more money that way. Having 1 car is not difficult, it just takes some planning & organization. We plan our trips, grocery store runs, trips to the gym, work trips etc on a calendar, that is how we stay organized.

I think it completely makes sense for you two! I couldn’t do it with my boyf since we both need our cars since we work 12-14 hour days when working and my career usually means lots of running around/shopping spur of the moment. Since you work from home, it seems very possible, especially since K is working so close too. And environmentally, amazing…

I would keep the car that is already paid off, and sell your husband’s, so you don’t have a car payment! Or just think about which car is worth more $, and sell that one – a car’s a car (especially when you’re only driving 1.5 miles to work and can walk to many of the grocery places), but if his car is worth twice yours, keep the cheaper one and use the profits to buy the scooter!

I don’t know how expensive Vespas are, but I’ve seen the new Honda scooters and they look like the vintage classic scooter style, I expect they’re cheaper than a Vespa. OR you could do like my boyfriend and buy a $80 bike from Target and hook up a $150 motor bike kit to it – instant scooter, no license required.

You can definitely be a one car family, and your situation is more than ideal for it – good luck! Maybe one day you’d get to the point where you were a zero car family (assuming your in-town relatives still have their cars if you had a dire emergency).

I’m a no car gal so I think its totally do-able. I live in Toronto and we have a great transit system which totally helps but I find that not having a car pushes me to walk more often and further. Win!

Hey–
Not to be negative, but unless you have to pay to park the cars (like in NYC, where your garage is blocks/miles from your home!), I’d keep both. That said, you don’t have to USE them both. But there will be occasions where you will be glad you have two, and 100/mo. isn’t really that much. A walkabout town is great, and walk walk walk all you can and want to, but give yourselves some time in the new place before you think about becoming a one-car family. See how it all goes; lots of changes are good but don’t do too much too soon. Permanently getting rid of a car is more than the inconvenience of having one car in the shop…
That’s all. Congrats on successful househunting.

we’re a one car family in CT right now – it’s not that bad. If Hubs isn’t around I can walk or take the bus to the train station and train it to work in greenwich and then walk to work from the train station. It’s not too bad and I don’t mind the walk anyhow (since i LOATHE driving). If you can swing it, the savings are definitely worth it 🙂

We did it for a while, & frankly we could do it again but we don’t because of convenience. I think that if you can do it, you should go for it! 🙂

My boyfriend and I are a one car family. We live a mile from my job so I bike just about every day. We actually bike and walk pretty much everywhere, and it’s not a problem at all. I don’t know what we’d do with a second car if we had one! Plus we’re saving money, helping the earth, and burning calories by getting around on our two feet/wheels (with one car for grocery shopping, long trips, and taking the dog places). I highly recommend it!

We just went from a 3 car to a 2 car family. My husband commutes 240 miles round trip 10-12 days a month and we have two kids. We sold my car that was a fabulous family car since the kids are getting a little bigger. We have the truck for pulling crap and for me to take the kids places when I need to and he has the commuter car now. But we really don’t use the truck much when the hubby isn’t home. The kids and I would much rather ride our bikes or plan to go to the South Side of town on a day that we need to get all of our errands done at once. Saves on gas.

Do it!! We are a one-car family. We live in the suburbs of Chicago. I work in the loop and my fiance drives to work and he drops me off at the train into work on his way. You’ll find plenty of ways to get around in a city without a car. TOTALLY not necessary, especially if you work from home.

i think that’s a great idea, as long as you have another form of transportation. definitely get a vespa or even just a bike.

We are a one car family. It works well. I drive to work because for my job I am out at meetings, driving around, work late nights, etc. If there is a time I don’t have a meeting outside the office(which isn’t often, ha!), my guy takes the car. He takes public transit to work which is perfect for him. On the weekends/off time, we just share the car. It is technically “mine” though–your husband shouldn’t have to worry about snow in the south which is nice! Hopefully your community has good public transit.

we share a car – which CAN be trying at times, but with patience and a little finagling, totally doable. good luck!

Sharing a car DEFINITELY works in areas that are walkable/bike-able and have public transportation. I share a car with my fiance is Colorado where we have the Denver bus system and amazing greenways 🙂

I say do it! Save some mula!

We live just outside DC in Arlington, VA. We only have on spot in the garage of our condo building, so I got rid of my car. The public transportation is really good around here, but I always bike everywhere when the weather is cooperating. My place of work is 4.5 miles away and I get there in under 30 minutes, quicker than metro. Only having one car says a ton of money (insurance, maintenance, parking….). He commutes to work most days, but in a pinch if I need a car and I use ZipCar.

Well, I am not married nor am I in a relationship anymore, but I used to live in Chicago with my boyfriend. When we moved, I had a car but he didn’t. We lived within walking distance of the grocery store and shopping centers, so that was never a problem unless we had to go shopping for a huge haul or super heavy things (laundry detergent, lots of canned/jarred items, etc.) and I think when you live within walking distance to places like that, you tend to stroll every few days to pick up a few items. If you are taking your bike with you, you can always bike on the Greenway to certain places if he’s using the car, or vice versa. I think living in a commuter-friendly city is definitely beneficial on that front. And if there are moments when you both need a car, one can always rent one which would still be cheaper than gas, insurance, etc. Plus, it’s a little more eco-friendly, if you care about that sort of thing. To me, it seems as if the benefits far outweigh the cons. Good luck with whatever y’all decide!

We are actually a 1 car family all 5 of us. So anything is possible 🙂

Considering Brandon and I drive in completely opposite directions for work (me – 30 miles north, him 70 miles south), there’s no way we could be a 1 car family. When we lived in Melbourne though, we could’ve done it since we worked a mile from each other.

I am a one car family. I ride my bike most places and 99% of the time it works great for us. There are a few cases when both of us need the car, but we can usually figure out a way around it. I have the metro as a back up option – but we can’t bring our dog on it is the only problem! I definitely think it could work for you guys. Until you have kids probably 🙂

My husband and I had one car for about a year. Overall, it was great to save some money, but definitely got frustrating at times…Especially when that one car breaks down. It takes quite a bit of planning as well, and there are times when I found myself stuck at home and kind of annoyed. Despite all this, I think we’d do it again!

I live in the suburbs, so we probably couldn’t do it- but in your situation I definitely think I’d be up for it. Would your husband consider biking to work?

Also, why not sell the car that has a loan on it? Then you get rid of that…right? That will save you the car payment every month!

I grew up with our family having three cars (two parents then eventually my brother, sister and I rotated sharing a car) and now we have five total (my two parents and my sister and I all drive these; my brother bought his own across the globe).

I walk to all my classes and would rather not have a car anyway! I HATE driving

My family has only one car, but we hardly ever use our car unless on weekends for outings and stuff. We’re a public transport kinda family (I don’t even know why we bought the car in the first place, besides to satisfy my dad’s lifelong car cravings).

🙂 Good luck with your decision! I think you should sell it, especially if you’re working from home and the Husband’s clinic is so close! (The Vespa/electric scooter would be nice, though.)

Wei-Wei

Andy and I are a two car family but I will most likely sell my car when I get a job closer to home. It’s better for the environment, plus I would start walking a lot more. I think I’d look into getting a bike as well. I’m interested in seeing what you decide.

We’re a one car family, but I don’t even have a driver’s license so that’s a no brainer 🙂 I am a 5 minute bus ride/20 minute walk from work, and we have plenty of options as far as grocery stores, etc, within a few minutes walk from home. It would be so costly just for me to get my license, and then to insure me as a driver on our current car – nevermind that I’d probably never get to drive it as my husband works longer & more hours than I do. I grew up in a one car family and have never really seen the need for two cars for two adults…I can understand it if both have to commute to work, but it sounds like you’re moving to a city that will make having one car very convenient.

My man asked if I thought we could be a one car family and it totally freaked me out. It sounds like your new digs would be easy to make it work. I would suggest maybe move up and park one car for a while and see if you are able to survive without it. If so then sell it!

we’re not in a place where we can walk everywhere, but my hubby and i do just about everything together, including work. it would be inconvenient at times, but we could totally do the one-car thing. i would say go for, especially since you guys will likely be walking everywhere anyway!

Hey! Not a one car family, but we do have more people than we do cars and it works out okay. You will fall into a routine and it will seem like no biggie. Sure, there will be random days when you wish you had your own car, but that’s inevitable!

A Vespa or Honda is a great way to save money, look cool (especially since Charlotte has great weather!), and still have space to store things and bring things along to work or errands.

Moreover, you’ll be supporting a healthier environment and a better lifestyle for yourselves! One car will still allow you to pick up groceries, make trips, and see friends and family without a problem.

You are speaking to me girl! Infact I wrote a post about this not too long ago. We just got rid of hubbys car and we love it! I walk or ride every where and never miss the car. Pn the contrary I dread getting and having to drive. You will love it!

We’ve always been a one car family – when we lived in the and now living in the subarbs. We chose our house b/c my hubbie can walk to the train to commute into the city and I use the car to drive to work. I guess b/c we’ve always had 1 car we don’t even think twice about it. Even with it we walk and bike most places even in the Winter – which I guess you wouldn’t need to worry about! Good Luck!

I think you should consider selling the Honda. Chances are you might be taking more road trips to visit old friends in Florida and will need a more reliable car. Also at 10 years old you will likely be looking at more repair costs or having to replace the Honda alot sooner than you will the Pacifica. I wish this was an issue we had to deal with here in Houston. Good luck on your decision making!

The hubby and I were a 1 car family for the first 5 years of our marriage. We only bought a second car last year when I got a job across the city from his job, and because our other car was paid off. We didn’t have any problems with being a 1 car family … it was great!! I still miss our drive together in the morning when he would drive me to work, or I would drive him 🙂

We have one car and a Vespa. My husband works about 5 miles from home so he rides the Vespa and I take the car. It works out really well and we don’t miss having a second car at all. We save so much on gas and insurance too and the Vespa actually comes in handy for local events where the car parking is super crowded (like a street fair).

We simply don’t have money to have 2 cars. The UK is very expensive for gas, and the extra insurance and road tax would be too much. Me and my husband have scooters (Vespas) as well, which works out ok for commuting to work and it’s much cheaper. But if I would work nearby I would hardly ever use any transport, I used to walk to work and it was about 25 mins away, it was great!

I think it’s great that you decided on being a one-car house. I would have liked to be able to do the same but the public transit in my town is horrible and my husband is a supply teacher so he never knows where he will be each day.

Sorry I’m late to the discussion, but I wanted to tell you that we are a one-care family, and if we can do it with two small children and differing preschool/kindergarten schedules, anyone can! My husband bikes to work (2 miles each way)–even in winter (and we live in Minnesota. yes, he bikes in ice, snow, and below zero temps). That means I usually have the car, which I need, because I have to drive my youngest to preschool and pick my oldest up from kindergarten also on two of the days of the week. However, if it is pouring rain, a snowstorm, etc., or my husband NEEDS our car to get to an off-site meeting or another reason, I go without (if it’s not a school day) or the girls and I drive him to the office and pick him up (if I need the car for school runs, a pediatrician appointment, etc.). This can get hectic and crazy, but since I am a full-time stay-at-home mom, we really cannot afford two car payments, insurance premiums, etc.

It can get really time consuming at times, because, for example, if he takes the girls to the park on Saturday, I cannot go grocery shopping or run errands until they get home. We cannot split up and run multiple errands with the kids at the same time. It makes our lives very different from most families, but we have never had more than one car (previously we lived in 2 large cities, so used public transportation on a regular basis), so we never got used to having two, and now cannot afford to upgrade.

But I am actually glad, despite the many inconveniences. I am proud of us for being so environmentally responsible; showing our daughters our values about the earth, money, and consumption; and saving our family money. We live in an affluent college town and it is unheard of to only own one vehicle, but we have made it work and are very happy!

I’m way behind on blog reading but I wanted to answer this. My husband and I got married one and a half years ago and have only had 1 car the entire time. We live in St. Louis which isn’t necessarily the most walkable city (we’re actually about 10 min outside the city), but we’ve managed just fine. It helps that we work for the same company (though our buildings are 10 min apart) so we can carpool to work. That’s not to say it’s not without frustration at times. He goes to class 2 nights a week so I’m often left carless. However, with a little bit of planning and flexibility (and bike riding!) we’ve made it work just fine. Some people think we’re crazy but we love saving the money. Our car is paid off so we only have to pay for car and insurance for 1 car. Would hate to add a car payment to that just to have a second car. We’ll hold off as long as we can!

we are a one-car family. hub’s office is about 20 minutes (more with traffic) away from my school (i also work on campus), so it can be really tricky and annoying sometimes because there are days when he needs to be able to drive around during the work day. sometimes i get dropped off on campus at 8am and picked up at 6pm or later. some days i am able to get friends to give me rides, and somedays his brother lets him borrow his car. it’s tricky, but i’m not sure we’d change it if we could right now! we get almost an hour more of “together” time most days because of this!