Driving a car is very expensive.

[Peakster]

I drive a cheap car, no question about it. I don't have car payments to make, I get better fuel economy than most Canadians with their 'normal' cars. Heck, even my vehicle insurance is some of the cheapest in the nation.

Yet driving a vehicle is still a very expensive way to get around in a larger city. Check out how my 'fuel miser' stacks up in terms of basic monthly cost:

Required Registration and Insurance: $73
Maintenance (everything from oil changes to new tires): $55
Repairs (everything from a new battery to a shop repair): $50
Parking (both permits and street meters) $50
Gasoline (basic travel within the city, with a monthly trip to another city 5 hours away): $167

Total transportation expense: $405
(and that's assuming one doesn't ever get a traffic ticket, or other surprise cost of driving)

That's a lot of money considering there are half-decent bachelor apartments that rent out for less in Winnipeg. Yet going car-free is virtually impossible without using a very good mass transit system (which very few cities have). I'm beginning to ponder if I can afford owning a car once I graduate from university and live independently.

What is your total expense of using your vehicle and how do you cope with the cost? Do you imagine that you might have an uncomfortable monetary squeeze of owning your vehicle in the near future?