New Year, no car, new house?

Big changes around here! Last night we posted an ad to sell our car, which isn't a big deal until you hear part 2, which is that we're not replacing it with a new one! We're making a green decision here: Green for the environment and more green to stay in our bank. This deal comes with a bonus: we are also going to be more fit b/c of this decision AND when we do drive a car, it won't be a total clunker/ticking time bomb for repairs - it'll be shiny, new, and safe!

How many cars do you need?

How do we get a shiny new car if we're not buying a replacement you may ask? Car sharing. Here in Marburg is a handy company with tons of locations both here and in Giessen (and Kassel). You can read more about car sharing here and a quick article here. Our Marburg firm is here.

One of our post-seminary goals was to get fit, so while we're doing a lot better with what we eat, and we go to the gym several times a week, I'm the only one who's really biking a lot. Stefan's been taking the car to school every day, mainly b/c of the amount of things he has to take with him (no classroom/office at school, just in our apt). However, a colleague of his has a great system on his bike that seems really user-friendly, and with the addition of a private teacher's-only garage at the school, Stefan feels optimistic about making the switch (his Christmas coat from my parents is also a big help!). I'm already in the habit of biking to the grocery store after class, so with his help the weekly grocery run I've been doing on Saturdays in the car should be no problem on two bikes.

By switching to a car sharing program we only pay for what we use, which in our case is 2-3 trips to Giessen every month and a few longer trips every year. Even the Giessen trips can easily done by taking the bikes on the train, or just using the train/bus combo, so we wouldn't really HAVE to use a car for that if we didn't want to. There's a bus stop right in front of our gym and church - both of which are easy to bike to and we actually walk to church most of the time anyhow!

When we do use a car from the program it's brand new, insured, has AC (J's favorite feature!), a good heater, and a gas card. Renting kiddie seats, luggage, or bike racks is free from the company too. They even rent different sizes of cars, so a trip to Ikea could be done in a wagon, or a move to a new apartment could be done with the help of a giant Mercedes bus! All this for less money that our yearly gas bill, car insurance, and annual car tax put together (not even including regular oil changes or big repairs!). We also like that it's connected to a larger network around Germany, meaning we can take the train to Munich, sign up for a car there, and drive south to visit Stefan's brother, Frank, in a nice, new car. (Driving the whole way down there would get pricey.)

So we're pretty happy with this! The money we get from selling the car will pay an annoying bill we have, pay the initial fees we have with car sharing, and go towards getting Stefan a good bike and bags. Of course, this is also great for the environment, so three cheers for that while we're at it!

Next project: searching for a new home.... stay tuned!