Making the One Car Thing Work

Hello, friends! 

Like I'd mentioned a few weeks ago, the Rolla died a glorious death and has gone off to that racetrack in the sky.  The wind will always be at its back I'm sure but I certainly won't be the one gently easing down on the accelerator.  (I've been told that I drive too carefully for someone of my age.  I respond that The Rolla was getting 41mpg by me driving this way so folk could drive their own gas guzzlers however they want).  Until we get a new car, that means we are down to 1 car for a bit, which was part of the plan anyway. 

Honestly, I'm kind of glad that we were able to get a test run at doing the 1 car thing before we actually made the jump.  It's given Megan and me a chance to see if this is what we really want to do.  In some ways it has been easier than we anticipated.  In other ways, it's been a little tougher. 

For the most part, Megan and I have been doing just fine.  We go a lot of places together, in which case you only need one car.  Our schedules are also compatible enough that there are very few conflicts.  For example, on Tuesday mornings, my small group meets @ 6 and hers meets @ 9.  I take the car to small group, bring it home, and she is out the door a few minutes later.  It works out really well. 

There are some situations that have proven to be a little more difficult however.  Pretty much it is Wednesday night, when ACF has Large Group.  Megan has been in charge of the cooking (since she is an AMAZING cook) with students which means going grocery shopping and getting there early to start cooking.  Since I have been doing the teaching, my preference is to come a bit later so I can do final preparations before I move on to hanging out with students.  Unfortunately, given the cold and such these past few weeks, I have been unable to bike to Large Group, meaning I have had to run over there early with Megan and try to find a happy place. 

It isn't the end of the world and overall, I'm actually finding that it's working about as well as we could expect.  A nice added bonus is that I have been walking and biking more since I don't always have a car, which is great for the bottom line as well as for my waist-line.  =0). 

Stats:
Distance: 8 miles ($.74)
Meters: 3 hours on campus ($3) + 2 hours downtown ($1.20)

Total: $4.94
Grand Total: $421.91
Left to Save: $161.12

Happy Biking!

~Adam