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The decision to give up the car wasn’t taken lightly but we were paying out so much each month to run the thing that it was an expense we just couldn’t afford to live with.

But giving up on it wasn't a simple choice – we still have to get around, transport shopping and more. So, a year on, did it pay off?

Initial Savings

Cars can be pretty expensive. I didn’t own the car. Having no savings meant that I had no money to buy a car outright but, I was able to get finance on a second hand car.

As well as the monthly payments for the car (£120), the petrol was around £100 a month and car insurance set us back £75 because I’d had a prang the year before, my no claims bonus was non-existent.

On top of that, nearly every other month it seemed something went wrong and we had a puncture or fault which cost us even more cash. With breakdowns, wear and tear and road tax, we were easily spending or putting aside another £80 a month.

The most important thing, in terms of saving money, is that we instantly saw a difference. Getting shot of our car saved us around £375 a month in cash which we could put towards other things.

But, how much needed to be put back into alternative transport and how much did we actually save?

Commuting

Instead of travelling by car, my wife started to take the train to work. Now she pays around £65 a month in return train fares .

On top of the fare, she has invested in a better umbrella and good pair of gloves as the walk to and from the station at either end can be a bit cold and wet during the winter months! She got both for around £10.

Door to door, the travel time on a train is about the same and she no longer needed to wait around in traffic jams but, leaves on the line and general delays instead got in the way.

Food Shopping

I was worried about how we would manage the food shop as it used to be so easy. Grabbing what we needed and chucking it in the boot, we’d have it back in the kitchen without much hassle.

Trying to do this without a car was impossible – there would be no way to carry a week’s worth of food shopping by hand, for 30 minutes, or even manage to get it on the bus!

Instead, we took advantage of the new train ticket. After my wife finished working, she would stop by a supermarket and grab enough food to carry and make her way back with it on the train.

For the bulkier items, we would do an online shop every few weeks and have it delivered straight to our door. Depending on who we ordered with and what time we wanted it to be delivered, we could get our food for just £1 an order.

Our average total spend for transport for food shopping is now around £5 a month.

Public Transport

If we want to head for the shops or meet up with friends and family, it can really be a chore. When the weather is good, we walk. We now find that we walk loads and the children can walk for around 30 minutes without too much complaining.

If we need to walk further, or is the weather isn’t good, we used to get a bus but quickly realised that we were losing out. By the time we had paid for two adults and two kids we had paid more than £10 for return tickets. Instead if we got a taxi we would pay around the same amount of money for door to door service.

I never considered getting a taxi as I immediately thought they were the expensive option but they sometimes work out a lot cheaper so we find ourselves getting those more.

We probably take a trip a month to the shop or to meet family, costing us around £20 a month.

poll loading Would you sell your car to save money? 1000+ VOTES SO FAR Yes - it's an expensive way to get around No - I couldn't get by without it I don't have a car

Ask for a ride

Instead of taking public transport, we just ask to see if we can get a free lift. If we are planning to see family or we know friends are heading in the same direction, we simply ask if there is enough room for us.

I do feel quite cheeky but repay kindly in cups of tea and biscuits which my family (luckily) love as an alternative to cash.

Cost = nothing!

The downside of getting rid of the car

(Image: Getty)

Winter is cold and we can’t hide in a car when it rains or snows. Instead we face puddles and getting soaked waiting around for public transport to turn up. It also means we have to carry lots of stuff instead of leaving it behind. Plus, I hate having to ask other people for favours.

It’s the inconveniences that make me wish I had a car still and being able to just jump in and nip somewhere quickly, rather than having to plan journeys with a timetable.

Was it the right choice?

Quite simply, getting rid of our car was the right choice.

Not having a car has saved me money without a doubt but it has also got me fitter. I also seem to be spending less money.

As we can’t just pop to the shops to buy things, our impulse purchases have gone down. If we want to go out to the shops, we plan it better and really consider what we need to get and whether we can get it home with public transport.

If we were shopping there would be a temptation to buy something, throw it in the boot of the car and forget about it. Having to carry what we buy makes us really consider whether it’s worth the effort of carrying it around all day.

Savings without a car

Cost wise, we are now spending about £1,090 a year on transport without a car, compared to £4,500 with a car – that’s over £3,400 saving per year!

Even if we had cleared the existing finance left on the car that still would leave us with a saving in excess of £2,000 per year which is substantial.

Without a doubt, getting rid of our car has definitely saved us money and, although it can be inconvenient at times, I would make the same choice if faced with the decision again.

Ricky Willis is an award-winning money saving writer - he runs the Skint Dad blog

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