Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you. Please read our disclosure for more info.
Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Work In My Pajamas
Do I really need that car? When working remotely, it may seem that your car is just another nuisance and financial expense. You already don’t commute to work, stay at home most of the time, while those costs just keep piling up. Although, it is possible you will need a car to drive your family to work or hospital, complete some chore outside the house, pay the bills, and whatnot.
Before you decide what to do with your vehicle, you will need to know what kind of remote work you do (yes, there are different kinds of remote work) and whether your lifestyle requires an automobile. Let’s dive in deeper.
Working Remotely From Home
A basic definition of remote work is that it is a work that doesn’t take place in a traditional office – in other words, a remote job means you won’t need to drive to the same physical business or office.
However, there are those who work only from home. This is especially true for those with caretaking responsibilities, whether they are caring for children or seniors. This work flexibility allows them to work from home without leaving for a physical office and is often what enables them to participate in the workforce at all.
If you are only commuting from your home office to your couch, you may not need a car. Although, if you’re caring for someone, you may still require a car to complete outside chores, drive them to the hospital or school, etc.
Working Remotely
Just because someone works mainly from home doesn’t mean they can’t go out to a coffee shop with Wi-Fi for a couple of hours or drop in at a co-working space to refocus and mix thing up. Remote work is flexible, before anything else.
Working remotely means traveling from your house to wherever you opt to work in – this can be anywhere with high-speed internet access. Whether that place is a cafe with a good internet connection or a coworking space.
If you like working like this, and need a variety or to get away from household distractions, a car can be quite useful. How else would you go to your favorite coffee shop?
Advantages of Not Owning a Car
Not having a car can become a way for you to finally focus on your health. Cycling is an excellent physical activity that has a low impact on your body – causing less strain and injuries than most other forms of exercise.
As a mode of transport, cycling replaces sedentary – sitting – time spent driving your vehicle. If you’re serious about cycling, and with it, want to replace your car, find a detailed guide for selling your vehicle, as you can gain a lot of money if you sell it in the right way. When we are talking about money, having a car has many inherent costs:
- Required costs – Gas, Registration, annual tests of vehicle safety, maintenance
- Traveling costs – Gas, road tolls, oil, etc
- Unexpected costs – Repairing your car after an accident
Besides this, cars have a huge environmental impact. They consume a lot of energy during production, leaving a giant footprint from materials that are used. Similarly, their “corpses” leave plastics and toxic battery acids in the environment. Vehicles are also America’s biggest air quality compromises, creating about one-third of all U.S air pollution.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these tips can help you decide whether you need a car or not when working remotely. Think about all the various parts of your life – do your work from home completely, or like going to cafes and co-working spaces? Do you have a loved one that needs driving to school or hospital? Maybe you can exchange your car for something healthier, like a bicycle? Answering these questions will let you decide about the main one.
