One Vehicle

Last May, we decided to sell Travis' truck and go to only having one vehicle.  Several of our friends thought we were crazy.  One friend even said "that's a stupid idea."  Now, anyone who knows me well, knows that when someone says I'm crazy for doing something, this is all the more reason for me to do it!

We had a few reasons for wanting to sell the truck, but the main reason was to pay off debt.  It allowed us to pay off our van which was the only debt we had besides our house.  And we've also been able to save money each month by not having insurance on two vehicles.

Another reason was because Travis wanted to see if he could get by only riding his moped or bike for the summer.  For the most part, he did this, but there were some days he took the van to work when I didn't have to go anywhere.

Another of our reasons was to simply have less.  It seems the world we are living in today is all about how much "stuff" we have and whose "stuff" is the best.  We always want more.  I fall into this trap all the time.  I see something I want and I think I have to have it! Or when I take Addison to the store and she really needs that plastic toy that is overpriced and will break after playing with it a few times!  It's hard to not want more.  It took awhile to get used to only having one vehicle and it has been inconvenient at times. But, it made us be much more purposeful in where we were going and plan ahead.

I was talking to my mom the other day and she was telling me how my family only had one vehicle when I was little.  She would walk halfway across town (a small town!) pulling me in a wagon, just to go to the grocery store.  It was much more normal back then.  I'm sure there were days when she would've loved having another car, but it was just the way it was and she was used to it.

Travis took the van today and drove to Kansas, which means I'm riding my bike 4 times today to take Mackenna to and from school.  When I first thought about it, I thought about how hot it was going to be outside and how unpleasant the ride would be.  But, as I was riding, I saw the smile on Mackenna's face and thought about the exercise I was getting.  It felt good!  And thankfully, I don't have to go very far!  It really is a ridiculous thing to complain about...riding 4-5 blocks to school, like it's going to kill me or something!

I don't think this has convinced us not to ever get another truck, but it has made me more aware of how lazy I am sometimes and how I really can get by with less, even if it is an inconvenience at times!