YIKES.
Or I should say, this is why we average our car budget for the year.
We were lean on transportation early in the year. It was exciting to see how much we were saving but I was also aware that we would be spending more in other months.
This was one of those months.
We used ZipCar three times this month and had three car rentals. One of the rentals Chris got talked into an upgrade and then was upgraded again because it took two hours to actually get the car. We learned a lesson on that one: if you don’t get a super cheap rental, ZipCar is a better option for a two day rental.
We also learned another valuable lesson: book yourself an extra half hour with the ZipCar when you can. Chris booked a car for three hours so we could meet family for lunch in the burbs. I thought it was ambitious trip planning. The traffic out that way is unpredictable and if lunch was late getting started we wouldn’t be back in time.
Lunch was late getting started and when we went to extend our reservation the car was already booked for the hour after our return time. Oops. We hustled out of lunch to find traffic on the highway at a stand still. We notified ZipCar we would be late and Chris did some skillful non-highway driving to get us back. We were 25 minutes late returning the car and received a $35 penalty. Worse: we were stressed about ruining the other Zipsters plans.
Unusual amount of driving trips this month and our transportation costs show it. You can find full details here.
April Transportation Costs:
- ZipCar: $150.08
- Car Rentals + Fuel: $248
- Public Transportation: $12.50
Total: $410.58
Have a great weekend and remember to unplug!
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Hi There
It’s Bruna from Bees With Honey. I love your blog and have it in my RSS feed now so I can read your daily.
I was looking forward to meeting you at the Vancouver Mom’s Gala but will, unfortunately be in Whistler for my daughter’s dance competition.
Happy Mother’s Day to you!
Thanks, Bruna. Congratulations on the nomination as a Top Vancouver Mom Blog! Too bad you won’t be at the party. Are you on Twitter? Going to check now…
That is still hundreds less than we spent! You are in inspiration.
Thanks, Paula. Even with this big month (and another one in May) I think we are ahead financially with not owning a car.
You’ve got such a great attitude, despite it all, remembering that there are other months where your transportation costs are very low. I guess that’s how life is, no matter how well we plan everything out, things happen! I still really admire you and your husband for going car free…something I contemplate here and there 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement, Ashley. It was a big month here. One of the rentals and one of the ZipCars was Chris driving his boss around who was visiting from out of town. We were also able to get out and see our nephew play at a basketball tournament (way too far for public transit), go to a nieces birthday party and a few family get togethers. We’re trying to get as much family time in as we can before we move overseas. That means our transport budget is quite high but we’re fine with that.