So, we saved almost $1500 in a little over a month.
Wanna know how?
By losing control.
We went down to just one vehicle.
My husband started driving our van to work. We put his truck up for sale on the lot on base since we’re moving out of the country and can only ship one vehicle. And the van is paid for, title in hand.
I have kept a budget in an Excel spreadsheet ever since before we were married. I don’t itemize it as closely as a I should. I have a cell for each bill, many on auto-pay (like our investments and insurance), and others (like utilities, Internet, and cell phones) are generally the same amount each month. Then there’s our food/gas/living expenses cell that fluctuates wildly each pay period. I should have monitored that more carefully. The pay-all-cash, envelope system just doesn’t appeal to my husband or me. We just don’t use ATMs and my husband’s paychecks are direct-deposited. Our bank is really just an online entity.
I’ve been rather proud of being frugal this past year. We’d cut down on our spending pretty drastically. We don’t eat out. That helps a lot.
When I noticed we had all this extra money leftover after a couple paydays, I was rather devastated that I must blow that much cash on errands a few times a week – that it would add up to that much in a month of being stuck at home. I asked my husband to verify the budget and he did some math-y formula stuff and looked at the accounts and numbers.
Then I asked if this could have anything to do with my being stuck at home for almost a month while he took the van to work. He’s been picking up the groceries we need. And we’ve been paying cash for gas.
Light bulb (in the voice of Gru from Despicable Me).
So, how did we save so much money? I didn’t monitor well all the little seeps of using that debit card.
Like, when I poorly plan and we need a single item from the grocery store and then I come home with three bags.
Or grocery shopping too close to meal time and not planning to have a slow cooker dinner ready or lunch leftovers and then picking up a couple of those ready-made pizzas from the deli area.
Or not thawing out meat well enough in advance and having to rush out to pick up some rotisserie chicken or even some fresh meat – and five other items to make the recipe I decided last minute.
Not to mention all the extra gas wasted with the unnecessary running around that could be eliminated with better planning.
With better planning, I could shop for meals monthly or even twice a month, and let that be the end of it.
And all that extra money we’re saving with having one vehicle? So many options! Into our savings account to earn interest. To pay off unsecured debt. To take a vacation en route to our next duty station. To take the kids on fun staycation places before we move.
I wish we had done this sooner. I wish we hadn’t bought into the “need” for two vehicles. This was my selfish demand when we arrived here with our van from our last duty station. I wanted freedom to drive where I wanted, when I wanted. I didn’t even wait to see if we could “survive” with one vehicle.
I didn’t wait on the Lord to provide the perfect vehicle or say NO to me. I pressured my husband to drive the 1.5 hours down to Carmax to purchase a used Jeep Liberty that we owned for a year, then encouraged him to trade that in for a pickup truck that we are now having to sell. And we owe more than it’s worth. (Please pray it sells soon!) And I can imagine even more blessings when we don’t have that extra monthly payment to make!
My husband just mentioned yesterday how simple it is, having only one vehicle, even with having to juggle a couple appointments this week. It makes us appreciate our provision more than ever.
I read blog posts and articles all the time with lists about how to save money, cut costs, be frugal…and they really just all say the same things. They’re good lists, but I haven’t gleaned anything life changing from them.
Eat at home. Combine errands. Don’t use credit cards. Don’t shop online. Reduce. Reuse. Simplify.
I’ve done almost all of that I can do…except sacrifice by having only one vehicle…so there it is.
But I needed to lose control. Of my selfishness. Of my finances. Of my demand. Of that blasted Excel spreadsheet with its numbers and formulas and figures in black and white that don’t necessarily add up to God.
I am amazed and blessed…and shocked.
Check out some other frugal posts by the Review Crew.
We have also went down to one vehicle and when people find that out, they look at us like we have 3 heads! It does save SO much money… between gas and insurance. I have been known to do the same thing as you… I’d find a recipe or craft on Pinterest that I had to make NOW and I’d run out and get all the supplies I need. Now, if I don’t have the supplies on hand, I look for something to make/do that we already have everything for. It’s a real money saver! If I need the van for any reason during the day, I just get up and drive my husband to work in the morning and pick him up in the evening. It’s not a big deal and the money we are saving makes it way worth it!
yes, it seemed like a big sacrifice but I wish we’d done this years ago and never gotten a second vehicle.
Soooo…you don’t mention how this works if you have kids?! If you homeschool your kids, and you or they want to be out and about a bit, do you have extra tips for how you manage that? Don’t get me wrong: I’m a homebody and don’t believe in excessively running kids around (would prefer to avoid the process altogether). But you are without an option entirely if your husband is gone all. day. long.!
We don’t do co-op or have outside lessons at this time. Weekly, we scootered and walked to/from the library this last month. It’s 3 miles round trip! The two times I needed to go somewhere this last month, I drove my husband back to work and picked him up (once was an appointment for all of us on base to get passports and once for an essential oil event). It’s been amazing what we’ve let go since this venture and how liberating I feel, knowing I can’t drive to the store or grab a coffee or go thrifting or even to the park. We play in the yard. We make our own food and make do with the pantry ingredients or my husband stops on his way home from work. We don’t even go anywhere during the evenings anymore. We like being home together.
Ah that sounds like the life I’d like to have once I have kids. :) If I can get over other people’s shock in telling them we have one car I think I can get over the shock (my own and theirs) of kids pretty much staying home exclusively….thanks! :)
We’ve recently gone down to one vehicle and have been surprised at the savings on fuel. We haven’t made savings on food probably because we can walk to the shops all too easily!
Staying at home definitely saves money.
I think how well this works would depend on where you live. We live in a very rural area and everything is a distance. For example, the closest convenience store is 2+ mi each way, and grocery stores are 15+ mi. By the time hubby gets home, it’s all hands on deck to get through dinner and bedtime, so I need to be able to shop etc. during the day – there is just no way I can start my first “shift” at 6 am and then a “second” one at 8 pm. Plus, it’s almost 3 miles (and 2 of it along a major US highway) to my kids’ school (only some of mine are homeschooled). Taking the school bus instead of driving them isn’t a “better” sacrifice – because the bus stop is still over a mile away (to say nothing of the aggravation that would result from having to be at a bus stop at 6:15 am when driving means leaving at 7:50.). Hubby works from 7 to 5, so even if we drove them to the stop in the morning, he is not done until after they would be dropped off at 4:20 or so – and somebody has to be there to receive them/the driver won’t leave them off to walk home by themselves because of the distance. Forget about temperatures/weather/etc., I don’t have an extra hour or two a day to walk to/from the bus stop. I grew up in a one-car family was possible because of being in a city with public transit and walkable destinations (grocery, pharmacy, school), but for us, two cars isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.
I wasn’t saying that this works for everyone. I was writing a testimony of my own selfishness that I demanded a 2nd vehicle without even trying to live on one and now that we’ve done this for over a month, the Lord has changed my heart. I understand schedules and lifestyles are different in all families. I think Titus 2 frightens many young wives and mothers but there’s a reason we should be home with our kids and care for the home rather than running around, wasting time and money. I wish I could have those years back that I chased after worthless things. Jesus redeems all.
My husband and I have just made the decision to become a one-car family, and I have to admit that I’m so excited! I homeschool and we’re in a weekly co-op, so that will be the one day that I’ll turn into my errand day as we take my husband to and from work. I’m looking forward to the challenge … but especially for all of the money we’ll save! I was so encouraged to read about your experience, Jennifer.
Thank you! It’s been a wild time for us. Still haven’t sold the truck. :( Glad to hear the post encouraged you and you’re able to make it work.
I think it’s neat how you turned what looks like a sacrifice and a loss of freedom into something positive. I know my habits changed immensely when we moved and it wasn’t a quick trip to run to the store and get a last minute ingredient (and several other impulse buys, too).