7 Ways to Decide if You Can Live without a Car ...

1. Why Are You Going Car-free?

Before exploring ways to decide if you can live without a car, why are you going car-free? There are many reasons to ditch a car. Maybe you feel the cost of owning a car is too expensive and you would rather save this money for something else, such as buying your own place. Or maybe your monthly expenses are too high and you need to cut back. Whatever the reason, if you clearly understand why you're going car-free, this can motivate you to get creative and explore alternative transportation.

2. Do You Have Access to Public Transportation?

When determining if you can go car-free, be realistic about your access to public transportation. If you live in the city and there's a subway system, a train or buses, going car-free might be easier for you. But if the only public transportation is the bus, and you live and work nowhere near a bus stop, being car-free makes it difficult to arrive to work or school on time.

3. Do You Work Close to Home?

Then again, if you work close to home, you might be able to walk or bike to work. This can certainly save money. You don't have to deal with a car payment, gasoline or maintenance. Just make sure you have a backup plan on rainy days or very cold days.

4. Is Shopping and Entertainment near Your Home?

When you have a car, it's easy to go shopping and enjoy entertainment. If you live near shopping centers, you can walk. But if not, you might have to bum a ride every time you need to go to a store, which can be a major inconvenience.

5. Can You and Your Spouse Share a Car?

If you're married or living with a roommate, and the other person has a vehicle, can you share a car with this person? For this to work, you'll both need to work in the same general area, or have schedules that allow one person to take the car while the other person stays home.

6. Can You Borrow a Car from Someone else?

If you live at home with your parents or near relatives, you might be able to borrow a car whenever you need to go to work or run errands. But again, this depends on the car owner's schedule. If he also needs the car during the day, this might not work. But if you have completely opposite work schedules, sharing a car might be doable.

7. Do You Work near a Coworker?

If you and a coworker live in the same vicinity, maybe you can ride to work with this person and give him money for gas. This at least solves the issue of how you'll get to and from work without a car, but you need to make other arrangements for running errands and taking care of other personal obligations.

If you live in the city, living without a car can work. But it's much harder in the suburbs. If you brainstorm ideas you might be able to ditch your vehicle. What are other ways to decide if you can live without a car?