As a teen, I always wondered what sort of car I would wind up with. I definitely did not predict that I would be driving around an early 90s Honda with over two hundred thousand miles on it. There is no other way to look at it. I drive a beater.

Yes, a beater is what I have. It works most of the time, but I never know when something is going to break. I blow coolant hoses left and right, requiring seemingly simple yet annoying repairs to get working again. My car rattles, leaks, and generally behaves poorly.

If this is the case, why I am so glad to own this car? The reason can be summed up in a word: cheap. This car gets me around everywhere I need for next to nothing. It’s even survived a few long road trips (though those were slightly scary experiences at times). To sum up, it works.

Yes, my car does everything it needs, at a very low cost to me. I paid $1500 in cash for the car back when I was 16, and have been driving it for 6 years now. Even with repairs, thats just a couple hundred a year for all my transportation needs.

Of course, there is more to owning a car than just the cost of the car and repairs. You also have insurance to deal with. In my case, insurance is very cheap. I have the minimum amount of insurance required by law, which is quite inexpensive overall. This saves me even more money month after month.

Compare this to a new car. A newer car would cost me in payments, higher insurance, and more. Of course, I would probably spend less in repairs, but any way I look at it, I am saving a small fortune over the years by driving the beater around.

Of course, this isn’t going to work for everyone. I even wish for a better car at times, but when I think how much freedom I have in my finances because of the clunker, I smile a bit to myself and continue driving. Think about it, and you might just free up a lot of cash each month.