The other day I was traveling, and while we were having dinner with some friends, we started talking about living in Calgary with only one car. They said in a city that’s so focused on cars, isn’t it hard? My answer was simple: I couldn’t do it without car2go.
We went down to one car last year, and I think in all that time, there was one day that we really needed a second car. Â The rest of the time, it’s actually quite easy. I love to walk, I love to bike, but truthfully, it would be incredibly hard without the car-sharing service, which is why I’ve always shouted about it from any rooftop that will allow me.
Another one of the reasons that car2go had rabid fans and users like me, is what it means in other aspects of your life, especially your wallet.
By not paying for a second car, we have more money to do things that make life in Calgary for us. Like last year, when we bought our dream home, something I honestly never thought would be possible. But we saved every penny we had for years, and we didn’t invest in a second car that we didn’t actually ever need, especially when car2go lets you have a car when you actually need one.
The fact is, sharing services like car2go are helping bridge the gap of affordability.  In a recent survey, 66% of car2go members hope to purchase a primary home, but only 34% believe they can achieve their goal in the coming year— an attainability gap of 32%. Here in Calgary, 60% of users said that savings and investments and home purchase were their top financial priorities. The rest just wanted access to more mini-doughnuts. (Kidding…sorta.)
So how do I live in Calgary without daily access to a car? Â Well, it’s really not that hard. And there’s actually a growing number of Calgarians that don’t have a car at all. Â But here are some of my hacks for living a car2go life in Calgary.
- Plan ahead: As an entrepreneur, I don’t think I’ve ever had the same day twice. So planning my week in advance helps me feel like I’m not being dragged in a million places. Â So instead of having one or two meetings a day, I try to put as many as I can on the same day. That way, I can take a car2go to the meeting, hang out and get my work done, then car2go home. Â For a few dollars, I’ve gotten to where I needed to, without paying for gas and all day parking.
- Sharing is caring: My boyfriend and I share our car, but he drives it the majority of the time.  So what we normally do is set up our schedules, so that if I really need the car for the day, I’ll car2go to his office, and take the car for as long as I need it. Sometimes I bring the car back, and will car2go home, other times, I’ll just keep our car and he’ll car2go home.  Both are easy and both make our lives a lot simpler.
- Spend it on the things that matter: For a lot of people, saving money is motivated by their desire to travel. So the more you have in your piggy bank, the more likely you are to book that trip you’ve only dreamed about. Â We love traveling, and one of the ways we save money is actually on our way to the airport. Instead of taking an expensive cab, or paying $16/day to park our car, we take advantage of car2gos parking service at the airport. It’s super easy and saves us money almost instantly.
So that’s how I use car2go to save money and live my best life, what are some of your hacks?
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