A Car: Lifeline Or Dent In Your Lifestyle?

Picture

If you’re looking for a way to be more independent and to get additional freedom, a car appears to be the lifeline most of us crave. But is buying a car really the thing that we need so we can get more independence? Not only this but what about the additional costs there’s a car throws up? While a car proves to be a lifeline for getting to work and seeing far-flung friends on the weekend, is it actually financially viable, or are we just better off getting public transport?

The Upfront Expenses

It’s all dependent on the car you want; if you want a car that’s brand new, fresh off the factory line, you’re going to have to pay more for it. But most of us aren’t in a position to buy anything brand new. After all, after we’ve passed our test and we’re just looking for a little runaround, this seems to be enough. But for those people that have never had it before, how much work has to go into a clapped out old banger. Not just in relation to the MOT and servicing, but if there are problems that we come up all the time, we could be putting money into something that will end up as scrap soon anyway. From this perspective, it is better to buy a newer car, but this comes with larger upfront costs. And when you tack on insurance, as well as the minimum liability insurance available so you can emerge financially unscathed from an accident, this can result in a lot of outgoings.

Is Driving Just Too “Stressful” These Days?

For those people new to driving, they wouldn’t have the frame of reference, but that doesn’t disguise the fact that there is so much traffic and congestion on the road, meaning the potential for accidents is always there. If you’re using a car purely as a little runaround, and you don’t even bother taking it to work, you might not see much of a difference in your finances. But if money is tight, and driving every day seems to be a shortcut to making your blood boil, is it actually worth it in the long run? Driving used to be a very enjoyable experience, but now, you’ve got to prepare for the fact that a weekend getaway can result in problems on the motorways, traffic congestion, and the fact that you may be in queues forever. But on the other hand, if it’s this lifeline that you need, especially if you head away for weekends, it’s something that you need. But on the other hand, is a car actually necessary for us to enjoy yourselves and to go wherever we want, whenever we want?

What About Those People Who Never Passed Their Test?

Or those who didn’t even bother learning? Driving is incredibly expensive if you want to learn, and not every family is in a position to pay for their children to have lessons. In fact, a lot of people are only learning to drive now because they’ve had to, like those having children. But for those people who never learn to drive, they had to rely on public transport. And then there are also those who aren’t that confident behind the wheel that they won’t go so far, and instead, rely on bus services and various public transport to get them to where they need. If we are looking for ways to get away for a weekend, we have to be at the train station for a certain time and maybe we’ll have to cut our time short, but if this means we save a lot of money anyway, especially with the cheap bus companies out there, surely it would cost us more in terms of our car to go to these places, just for the sake of an extra hour or so? It’s all relative! For those people who have that wanderlust, public transport is their lifeline.

Does Having A Car Guarantee “Freedom”?

It’s a wonderful idea in theory, but when people run into financial problems, the car is usually the first thing they give up. And it can be a big shock to the system when you are reliant on it, but if your pastimes consist of social functions, and there’s an abundance of transport, and even sleeper trains where you can get some shuteye, so are you really going to miss it? A car is amazing if you rely on it every day, but if not, does it really change your life? It certainly makes things more convenient, but if you are thinking about getting a car because you can make more journeys on the weekends, you’ve still got to think, not just about the finances, but about the other concessions you will have to make so you can have this car. For example, if you plan on going to your friend’s house far away, you wouldn’t be able to go wild on the alcohol. If you’re not someone who doesn’t drink much anyway, that’s fine, but we can have a reliance on a car to get us around when we don’t necessarily have the capacity to operate it properly. A car can be a financial drain, but it can also stop us from enjoying ourselves in other ways. It’s all relative because we are different people. For a lot of us, if it’s just us, by ourselves in life, a car can be a wonderful gateway to the world, but if we’ve been getting by just fine without a car, is it worth that financial dent?

When we’re looking for the right car, we can think about the more superficial aspects, not the fact that it can be a very expensive thing to run, and we may have to cut other aspects of our lifestyle to ensure we keep it, not to mention the fact that the roads are more dangerous now. But a car is a wonderful thing if you use it right. If you’re looking for a way to see more of your friends, especially if you’re all scattered around the country, you can get there in a matter of hours. But don’t think a car is your only option to get around!

Tia, and TipsfromTia.com  is trying to keep you looking good and
feeling good, from the inside out. If you’ve got a problem or a tip email me! Be sure to Like and share on Facebook or Follow on Twitter or Instagram.