The Hidden Cost of Cars
Almost $10 billion is spent every year to convince you that automobiles represent freedom and success, but modern urban planning studies show that every trip you make with a car makes you poorer, less healthy and less happy. Let’s cut through the crap and find out the truth.
Cars are Bad for Your Wallet
You might be surprised at how much owning a car actually costs: AAA calculates the average cost of new car ownership at over $9,000/year!
Think you’re being clever with that used car? Money Under 30 estimates the cost of used car ownership at $6,000/year, which totals to over $2,000,000 lost over the course of a 50 year career at a 6.5% interest rate (stock market). Owning a car and driving it everywhere — even a used one — mathematically makes the difference between dying penniless or a millionaire.
With median US household incomes at $59,000, a household with only one car spends 10–15% of their paycheck (and thus their career) for the “freedom” to be trapped in rush hour traffic. In fact, car commuters spend over 100 hours/year trapped in traffic —plus another 300 hours/year paying off their car (at the average hourly wage of $30/hr). With that much time and money saved, you could retire decades earlier, start the project or company you’ve always wanted, or go on multiple vacations per year! Now that sounds…
