Two weeks without a car. What a crazy feeling! Every day I’ve experienced a sort of dull, phantom-car syndrome where I imagine driving somewhere, and then realize I don’t have a car. But each time, I feel comfortable with the decision I made to sell the car. Now, the trick is learning to live with less.
Oddly enough, it doesn’t feel like I’m compromising anything. I’m saving money, investing, and beginning to budget for a strong financial future. I think many people fear that not having a car will be restrictive, but it’s only been freeing for me.
Today, I wanted to highlight two essential Amazon products that I’m now using without a car.
1. Amazon Prime Membership
A few years ago I joined Amazon Prime with a student discount. It was under $70 for a year of two-day shipping, Kindle library books, and TV shows. I took advantage of a 6-month promotional trial, too. It was amazing. But after a couple years, I decided to cancel my membership.
With a car, it just made more sense to go to the local store. Since then, Amazon’s prices have been falling. And without a car, the whole cost curve changes. I’m willing to spend a little bit more on products to save a lot of time and money on auto payments.
There are some products that Amazon excels at delivering. For instance, on my bike, it’s not possible to bring home bulk supplies of toilet paper and towels. I’d be stuck buying 4 rolls at a time, at exorbitant prices. Instead, I order a 40 pack online. It’s delivered straight to my door within two days, too. Amazon is still offering a 6-month trial for free and it’s the best deal out there.
Here’s what I like:
- Reliable service and amazing customer support
- Two-day shipping for any amount of items
- Free access to TV shows and movies (no need for a Netflix membership!)
- A wealth of Kindle Library books that can be checked out for free
- Bulk items delivered at comparable cost to local stores
2. Amazon Store Card
Amazon beefed up the benefits to their store card, and I decided to apply for it. The Amazon Store Card is only for use on their website. While it offers special financing deals for certain expensive products, that’s not how I’m using it. See, if you don’t use the financing offers, it acts like a rewards credit card.
At the end of every statement month, I receive a 4% credit on all my Amazon purchases. And when I say credit, I don’t mean a gift card. It’s cash back. Now, I’m saving 4% off every purchase and combining that feature with Amazon’s incredible Prime shipping benefits. It makes going car-less effortless.
Here’s what I like:
- Easy to apply for and get the credit card, as it doesn’t require especially high credit rating
- Offers an immediate $20 credit on your next purchase
- Provides a 4 percent discount on all purchases, as a statement credit
- Automatic monthly payments can be setup for hassle-free service
I love Amazon! It was a life-saver for me through grad school too. Textbooks were cheaper than just about anywhere else, they ship it fast straight to my door, AND often I could trade them back in for Amazon credit to apply toward my next set of textbooks! Yes, and it definitely saved many miles on my car too.
We love our Amazon Prime membership. The free 2-day shipping is great, but we love to use the TV aspect of it. We watch so many shows there that are not available on Netflix. Netflix and Amazon Prime are a good one-two punch.
Agreed! We love our Amazon Prime membership too and our Amazon cash back rewards card! In addition to the savings we accrue by not driving to the store and thanks to Amazon’s low prices, we also actually buy less. At a store, I used to get distracted by the many options and would always buy more than I intended. Since you have to specifically search for an item on Amazon, we buy sooooo much less stuff–mostly in the household goods department. Thanks for this post!
I live in NYC where everything is walkable and I still order just about everything from Amazon Prime. It’s cheaper and it’s so much easier then hauling all my crap, like 20 rolls of toilet paper, around NYC.
This is awesome. Congrats on going car free.
Thanks! It’s been a heck of a journey already, and I am loving every minute of it! 🙂
Being car free must feel great, Sam! Amazon Prime is pretty amazing, huh? I’m looking forward to the future when I never have to go to the grocery store because I can have everything delivered straight to my front door.
My Amazon Prime membership has already paid for itself a bunch of times over. I love getting 20% off my subscriptions every month.
Please keep in mind poorly paid workers hauling tons of wares around the town/country/world so you can have the comfort of online shopping.