We just haven't been able to justify getting a 2nd car yet! It is not the cost, although that is an area of thought against getting one, but more the fact of we are able to live life without one at present.
We are lucky enough to have everyone have to be in the same place, more or less, every morning at roughly the same time and everyone finishes at the end of the day at about the same as well.
However, we just became a 2 car family for a small while. As I am studying, I have needed to travel to get to my weekly lecture, however, the day for the lecture is a busy one for us and not suitable for me to take our one car and leave the rest of the family to sort themselves out, too many activites etc would have had to have been cancelled just for my study. Now I am not against asking my family to adapt to something I am doing, but every week for 6-8 was a little unreasonable.
So we approached my mum and asked if we could borrow her campervan that was sitting around having a quiet moment. She was more than happy for this, although she decided that in fact she had use for the van for a couple of weeks, so therefore lent us her car instead.
So have we used it enough to warrant getting our own 2nd car?
Yes and No.
Yes, in that it has made life easier when there is something happening at work and one of us will be staying late. Yes when we have a judo night, saves Steve having to come with us and having to eat dinner at judo if he doesn't manage it before we leave. Yes it makes it easier so Steve doesn't have to run us all back home and then turn round and race back to judo so he can do his session, as his session finishes about 9pm and I can't leave the boys asleep in the house whilst going to get him......or can I? He also then manages to attend the whole session of judo and not have to always miss the first 20 minutes.
Yes, when there are things to do on the weekend and then you can both go different ways and get things done quicker. Also a yes for when I am on call and then if I get called Steve still has a car to be able to do things with the boys, like shopping etc.
A yes that I can see in the future is sports with the boys. Ben is just starting soccer this winter. With only one car then either everyone goes and endures the games or the family is split and 1 person takes Ben and the rest stay at home not managing to get any chores done outside of the house.
Another yes will be when I am on call for the weekend, about 1 in every 5, soccer will cause lots of hassel that weekend, because if I am called to work, everyone has to stay put whilst I have the car to get me there.
A big No, is the fact that apart from sports and the convenience of having it, mum's car has sat in our back garden collecting dust!
We can actually manage to go 5 straight days without using it, although we have just gone through the school holidays and so wasn't as necessary as during term time due to no judo etc, although when away over Easter, I did manage to go to the caravan a day before Steve because he didn't have as much time off work as I did.
Now I know when I was younger people did manage with just 1 car, but at the time activities did happen to be close by, mum's didn't work as much as mum's do now. Lots of other factors as well.
So are we getting a new car soon.......not that I can see. Yes we will have to bite the bullet very soon, but everyday we can manage without is another day that we don't have that extra cost
1 comment:
as long as you can manage with one car- Stick with it!! especially if you have your mum's that you can borrow in case you really need it! going to two cars was an expensive day for us :)
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