I gave up my bicycle after I obtained my driving permit. I spent twenty years, tens of thousands of dollars, and am still paying for yet another car that probably won't last 3x the loan terms it will take to pay for it. The idea of not having a license was never really presented to me. I live just north of ten miles from my job and we have amazing bike paths around here. I commute on my bicycle as often as I can, but my son's school schedule often dictates I take the car so I can taxi him to/from. This past November he was gifted a Cannondale from a cycling buddy of mine. He's in love with it and I'm already prepping him for spring commuting to school. It will be about 16 miles, round-trip. No big deal and he'll only have to deal with traffic for the first mile actually getting to the bike path. It leads straight to his high school and I'm hoping he'll take to it. He's not much into sports, but he's not fat or unhealthy. I think he'll have fun and maybe even be convinced that spending money on something that devalues faster than the American dollar isn't what it's cracked up to be. He can always get another car, but teaching him that spending money on stuff he doesn't need just means less money for stuff he wants. He's planning on moving to Florida when he graduates to live with his mother while he goes to college. She works at the local school in her town, so discounts a-plenty. Good for him and I hope to see him not become a slave to spending money.
$16,000 is what I owe on a car I bought used. Sixteen Thousand Dollars. Fuck me... I wish my parents had taught me about money when I was his age. As soon as I turned fifteen it was, "Go get a job and get a car..." I worked 35 hours per week and went to high school. I've been telling my boy that he could work at the local sandwich/bicycle/pizza/etc shop and walk or ride his bike. Not spending money is the easiest way to make money. Sure, he'll have to buy a car someday.. maybe. Depends on where he lives and all that, but if I could talk to my teenage self I would have NEVER gotten my driver license in the first place. Even if I did, buying a car is just silly as a teenager. I had nowhere to go but school (busses?) and work (7/10 mile from my house). I paid $197/month car payment, insurance and gas for what? To park it in a school lot and my parents' driveway at night? Just ridiculous...
Now, I'm conditioned to the perceived convenience of the automobile. I broke a car key the other day. Let me rephrase.. My piece of shit car key broke the other day. Cost me $60 to have a new one programmed to my car. It needs an oil change soon.... and four fucking tires.
AND WE HAVE TWO GODDAMN CARS!!! My wife's car has 196,000 miles on it and I was hoping to get another 100k out of it. I may just drive them both into a building and say, "Fuck it! We're walking from here!"
However, it's January in Northeast Ohio... and it's cold outside. (there's that conditioning, again... grumble/grumble)