Alycia, our eldest daughter usually gets a Grab car to college. The Grab fare used to cost RM25 – RM30 for a one-way trip but the fare has increased by almost 50% since a month ago. When classes return to 100% in-person soon, we’re going to spend even more on her Grab fare. We estimate that we would have to fork out an average of RM1,400 per month just on Alycia’s Grab fare to university next year!
With this additional amount on our list of expenditures every month, we could buy another car and spend the money on car installments instead. With the global surge on fuel prices, it would cost us another RM300 – RM400 on petrol per month, just for Alycia’s car. Thus, If we were to buy another car, it would add a commitment of at least RM1,700 per month to our already super high monthly household and education expenses.  I use online calculators such as Gas Budget Calculator to help me forecast how much petrol expenses I would be spending a month or a year.
I have always wanted to get a hybrid or an electric car to save on fuel and for a cleaner environment. But a hybrid car is out of our budget at the moment. A quick car loan calculation check at CarPaymentCalculator.net tells me how much we can afford to spend on car loan installments every month, the amount of loan we can comfortably pay per month as well as the cost of the car that we can afford to purchase.
Now that I know the budget for our next car purchase, we can start to window-shop for a car.  But it won’t be in another year before we actually buy another car as Alycia still gives me the jitters whenever I sit next to her when she drives. Being a newbie driver, she still needs lots of practice on the road with me sitting next to her. I’d rather be playing Car Lightning Speed at a virtual game arcade than sit next to a fresh new driver who gives me heart palpitation, cold sweat, and panic attacks!
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