Right now, my bus fare is included in tuition (just wave my ID..isn’t it great). But in the city I plan to live in, a monthly pass for bus and light rail is $64. It might be less if I choose to buy a bike and just ride to work. And only take the bus when I need to go to the mall in the ‘burbs.

So here are my current expenses…
($506 – car payment)
$60 – gas (1 – 2 tanks per month, avg ~1.5)
$75 – insurance (Wawanesa for me as well)
$17 – maintenance (car is under warranty, and it uses synthetic oil, so oil changes are only every 10,000 miles)
$10 – registration

In addition, I buy a train pass and take the train to work 3-4 days a week. That’s going to end up running me somewhere between $68 and $106 (pre tax, so less in real dollars).

So all in all, about $162/month for the car, plus $47-74 in post-tax dollars for transportation (I don’t count the car loan for the reasons listed above). Doesn’t look too bad to me.

I would love to not have a car and be able to walk but where I live, the public trans system is so poor, there’s no way I could do it.

I own the car free and clear, thank goodness, but there are still expenses. Its an old car though, so my insurance is fairly low as I don’t have collision.

gas: $120-180/month depending on how much driving I do
insurance: $68/month
maintenance: varies–oil changes, etc.
train station parking: $12/month
train ticket: $217/month
metro card: $81/month

$310/month (loan)
$25/oil change (about 2-3 times per year)
$35/fill-up (3 times per month)
$549/parking permit (for the academic year)
$1100/insurance (for the year, on my dad’s plan)
$15/wash (every other month)

I don’t really budget for major repairs since the car is still new, but I will need to replace the tires within the next few months, which will be about $400.

So, about $575/month right now. When the car is paid off (December!), this will go down, but will go back up again when my dad kicks me off his plan when I finish school. I think by then I might also make a point to wash my car a little more often .

Overall, it’s a heck of a lot less expensive. Plus, I enjoy being able to use my commute time (20 mins) for reading (a hobby of mine) as opposed to staring at the cars in front of me.

How much do one of those cost typically?

If they won’t, call Wawanesa. http://www.wawanesageneral.com/

They don’t advertise, and they only insure safe drivers, so their rates are really low. However, their customer service is excellent, according to Consumer Reports and similar surveys. (I’ve never had to file a claim so I can’t vouch for this). They saved me almost $400 a year off of State Farm’s quote.

Because I grew up here, I don’t even know how to drive!

Car payment: $270
Insurance: $20
Gas: $150
Maintenance: $10

Total: TOO MUCH!

I wish I could pay for it with pre-tax dollars!

Otherwise I use my beloved Scooter ! Insurance costs me $250 a year and gas is about $5 a month.

Gas: ~$90
Maintenance: I set aside $50/month to cover any maintenance
Insurance: $60

Total:$200