Well, I saved this one for last on purpose. This money-saver was the hardest for me to get on board with, and it was the last option on our list. However, I don’t regret it a single bit.

One-Car Family

Yep. You read that correctly. For a while now we have technically been a one-car family. You might think that’s crazy, and when the idea first came up I thought it was too. I couldn’t imagine being cooped up in the house all day every day without any way to get around. But the more we thought about it, the more it made sense for us. The amount of money we saved each month between my car payment and insurance was a HUGE help. As an elementary teacher, Matt has very good work hours and can usually make it home at a reasonable time if I absolutely need to go somewhere. But that was what did it for me. Wasn’t the point of being a stay-at-home mom to spend time with Baby Girl at home anyway and to keep from rushing her around constantly?

For the most part, having one vehicle has been nice! Of course, saving a big chunk of money is always great. But not always having a car available during the day has encouraged Matt and I to get out more as a family. We tend to be hermits and love our dinners in with movies or games. Since going down to one car, we go out in the evenings more often. When the weather is nice we may take Baby Girl to the park to run around, or grab a snack and walk around a shopping center nearby. When the weather stinks, we pick up some coffee and stroll through Target. It’s been nice for me to get things taken care of at home during the day and then get out for family time in the evenings!

The Bike

The biggest down side to having one vehicle for me is not being able to do any traveling apart from each other. My family and I are extremely close but live about an hour apart. When we had two vehicles, Baby Girl and I would make weekday trips home while Matt was at work. That’s something I couldn’t do having only one vehicle. So, Matt proposed a solution.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Matt has an amazing knack for finding great deals and flipping items. Because of this he’s able to sell these items when needed. When he could tell how upset I was about not getting to see family as often as I normally had, he decided to sell his mountain bike and buy a motorcycle to drive to work so I could use his truck. We’d still have no monthly payments, just additional insurance coverage. While this was such a sweet gesture, I immediately turned it down. A motorcycle?! Doesn’t he KNOW what happens to people who ride motorcycles?!

After several days of tripping out, I calmed down and took the time to think it out. For us it made perfect sense. I only take Baby Girl out while Matt’s at work a couple times a week so he wouldn’t be driving his motorcycle every day. In addition, we live so close to his work that he could ride his road bike if he absolutely wanted to. There was really no good reason for Matt NOT to get a motorcycle, other than my paranoia of what could happen during his <5-minute commute to and from work. Along with the many decisions we made leading up to me becoming a SAHM, this situation screamed “leap of faith” for me. So, that’s what I’ve done.

I think a lot of the time, trusting God looks like trusting others. For me, I’m not just trusting Matt to be safe. I’m trusting that God will give him the wisdom he needs to make safe decisions while driving, and that God will guide the drivers around him. When I realized that this is about my trust in God and how He often provides in ways we don’t love or understand, it made it easier for me to trust Matt to do what he thinks is best for our family. I’m so thankful to serve a God who controls all of these things!