Okay... so I was working until 2:00AM this moring... driving back from Great Falls, and I had to wonder what it would be like to not own a car.

Here's a few things to consider:

1. The average price of a new car is around $15,000.00 (roughly). For calculations sake, without interest...

On a four year note, that would be: 312.50 a month (again... without finance charges)

This would be $3,750 per year

2. Then you have ye olde insurance... for a new car, it can be quite high.

We'll average it out and say $175.00 a month for a new car as a new car loan requires you to keep full coverage.

This is $2100 a year.

3. Okay, so licensing a new car is expensive. We'll average this one out and say the registration is $500.00 a year (this can be cheap in some areas, and expensive in others). That's roughly $42.00 a month.

4. Depending on the gas consumption of the vehicle, we'll average it to 25 MPG with an average yearly milage of 20,000 miles (AAA estimate).

We'll round off gas and say it's $3.00 a gallon.

This is an additional $2,400.00 a year.

5. Let's figure in maintenance on a slightly older new car. This means that there are oil changes and the like. We'll say an oil change is $30.00 and it is done four times a year.

That's another $120.00 a year.. in just oil. Let's not forget tires, belts, hoses, and the like.

6. Most guys will usually put at least some money into modifications. I won't include it in the totals just to be fair... but it's a consideration.

7. How much money does the government spend to maintain roads, install traffic signs/lights/etc... and don't forget paying the highway patrol and the like. I also won't include that in, but when you look at the sheer volume of road construction and expansions... it's probably not just measured in the millions...

8. We could also include health care costs, as most of us don't really walk anywhere anymore... as we get fat, health insurance goes up, as does the costs of health care related to the pollution that cars spew.

9. One could also argue the costs associated with car accidents and the like... but that's also another story.

10. Isn't it interesting a single person buying a new car can spend up to roughly $8,370.00 per year? That can be a low estimate depending on the age, driving record and habits of the person driving the car. That also doesn't include finance charges, or anything else that can possibly happen.

Considering that can be most of what some people make in a year... it seems kind of odd we're all so eager to buy a car! Don't get me wrong, I love to drive and I enjoy it...

I guess what mostly got me thinking about it is that I blew through $150.00 in gas (and that was 85 octane crap!)... in one day. Thankfully, that's not my bill (company vehicle on company business), but it makes a person think about how cheap a pair of shoes are!