Americans work 500 hours a year — two hours every work day — just to pay for their cars, says James Schwartz of the blog The Urban Country. That's 12 and a half working weeks. Basically, you only work to pay your rent, feed your family, clothe yourself, buy iPad apps, etc. through about the end of September. The rest of the year, your ass belongs to your car.
Schwartz based his calculations on the average car-owning household, which has more cars than working adults — 2.28 cars and 1.147 full-time wage earners on average. Jesus, no wonder our economy stinks.
The good news is that households that really own 2.28 cars can save a bundle just by getting rid of 1.28 or more of them. The bad news is that you conscientious souls who have been getting around by bike with the occasional Zipcar can't save a nickel. But you've had 12.5 more weeks of income than the car-owners all this time!
