Car
I'm thinking about selling my car.
I bought it last December. I needed something more reliable than the car I'd inherited. My job at the time was tenuous and the possibility of finding work outside of the city was very high. It was also an "independence" thing. I didn't want to have to rely on anyone else for rides. Independent women drive their own cars, right?
It was really my first ever major purchase (besides College... but who thinks of education as a purchase in the same vein as a material thing?). I remember how good it felt to haggle until I got the price I wanted. I felt like I won something. I WON! Look at me! I bought a car! I'm a grown up!
And I love my car. It's exactly what I wanted. A 2009 Toyota Matrix (albeit pre-owned) in dark metallic gray. So awesome. So versatile.
But...the truth?
I got a new position at the same old place of work, one that, even with potential furloughs on the horizon, is about as stable as they come. For a variety of reasons, although I should be payed more for what I do and wish my job was more engaging, I'm not likely to go elsewhere for the next several years.
So the need to work and to drive outside of the city never came. And while I enjoy my car, I don't need it. I walk and ride by bike and take the metro a lot. And I carpool. And between the cost of gas (when I do drive my car) and my loan payment and my insurance.... I'm not sure the equation is balanced. Far from it, actually. I could be putting away so much more money if I didn't have my car.
And.
I'm very concerned about our future.
Ours, as in yours and mine.
I believe strongly that our economy is not going to recover, that we have turned an important corner. There might be times when it feels like it's getting better, but we're all headed for some very major change in the next decade, or even the next few years, in terms of lifestyle. And that lifestyle doesn't involve cars. Or, it involves a lot less of them.
For a long time I've been interested in living a more sustainable life. It was something I grew up with, have been nostalgic about, and have longed to return to and explore further. But recently I've realized that the time line has, perhaps, not been what I thought it was, and my desire to make this transition to an off-the-grid life has taken on a new sense of urgency.
It's time to take stock. Save until it hurts. Pay of my debts. Cultivate, both my yard/garden and other skills for the life ahead. And even if I take a loss on my car... I'm thinking it might be worth it.
Just thinking right now. Just thinking.