Jul 16

Trading in my car for a bicycle

I’ve gone through a couple nice cars (Audi A6, Range Rover Vogue, Prius, etc). Now I just ride a bike, so I thought it’d be interesting to share why.

The reason for switching to a bike was simple: Cars are crazy money black holes. We didn’t pay cash for those nice cars - we had car loans. We were paying very high car payments each month, in addition to high fuel costs.

I’m very serious about reducing my monthly living expenses so I can save 50% of my take home salary. An amazing way to do this is to get rid of your car costs. I save those car payments instead of burning them on The Nice Stuff Alter.

That’s obviously not possible for everyone but if you can, it’s a great way to reduce costs. We have two kids and my wife has to do most of the parent-taxi duties, so I’m lucky to not need a car. My wife’s car is a 3-year old Vauxhall Vectra that we paid for with cash.

In addition to the financial benefit, there’s huge health benefits. I ride my bicycle to the gym three times a week, and it takes 15 minutes each way. That means I’m riding my bike for 90 minutes a week, which is a workout by itself.

It also connects me to the physical world. I can smell and hear nature. I get rained on. I get tired. It’s real.

Side note: If you want a detailed post about all the benefits of getting rid of your car and switching to a bike, check out Mr Money Mustache’s post What Do You Mean “You Don’t Have a Bike”?!