There is a saying in the life insurance industry. If insurance were bought instead of sold the commission would be 2%. Life insurance commissions are upwards of 80% of the first years premium.

Cars are sold as well. People buy far more car than they need. I’m going to expand on this post in my blog www.imreallycheap.com.

If people bought cars like airlines decide what airplane to put on specific routes our cars could almost all be electric powered.

Why airlines don’t put 747’s on every route and why you don’t need a 200 mile battery capacity.

I hear many people complain or at least I used to, they hate flying on small airplanes. Extra seats on an airplane are expensive. Larger airplanes cost more money to buy and more money to operate. They require more fuel to go the same distance.

Extra seats in your car are no different. The larger the car the less gas milage and the higher it is to buy, operate and maintain.

Do you really need a car that has more than 4 seats or has a range of more than 80 miles?

If you actually tracked your driving habits and use the odds are pretty good you would be fine with a BEV, some of you would need a car like the Chevy Volt and a few more might need a Prius V or other hybrid. Most would find you really don’t need to own the car you have. You will find that the attachment is purely emotional.

Do you know that when you fly on a commercial airliner that they usually only carry enough fuel to get to their destination and then fly another 45 minutes to an hour. Carrying extra fuel is extra weight and extra weight burns more fuel to carry it. Add up all that extra fuel and the price tag adds up.

Many of you who have pick up trucks or big SUV’s could get by very well renting them the one or two times a month you need one. If you really want to own one you can offset the cost by renting it on RelayRides.Com or if you only need one occasionally you can be the renter.

How much does having more car than you need cost you? How much extra gas and maintenance? Depreciation? I’ll bet most of you have never figured it out. All most people look at is the monthly payment.

For most people cars are an expense. If you want to accumulate assets you need to reduce expenses. A car is one place you can actually do that.

Next time you buy or lease (usually a bad idea) sit down and figure out all the numbers. And I mean all the numbers. How you use it. Where you use it. All the costs of ownership. Don’t just look at it like a potential lover.

Look at it like your going to have to live with it for better or worse. All the flaws will become apparent very quickly. The less you have invested the easier it will be to walk away from if you can’t live with it. The cheaper it is the longer you will be able to live with it if you can’t afford to walk away.