Super-saving parents save £3,500 ditching their car and travelling by bus or bike

A frugal couple with four children have saved thousands of pounds by ditching their car and travelling everywhere on foot or bus - and even go on holiday by train.

Ruth and Tom Cumming, both 38, got fed up of rocketing garage bills to keep their car running which they used to ferry their children around.

When they were told their ten-year-old VW Touran would cost hundreds to repair when it broke down again last January, they sold it for £2,000.

The family now walk or cycle to school and work and for longer journeys take the bus and go on holiday by train.

Ruth and Tom live with their children Andrew, ten, Joel, nine, and four-year-old twins Samuel and Naomi, in Bournville, Birmingham.

The city is currently ranked one of the highest in the UK for car ownership.

Ruth, who runs her own sewing business, reckons the family have saved at least £3,500 on fuel and running costs since ditching the car.

She said: “We haven’t looked back from the day we got rid of the car.“It’s really liberating, I feel a real sense of freedom that we don’t have to worry about the admin of the car.

“We don’t have to worry about repairs.

"The money saving is great, I mean ultimately, that’s why we didn’t want to be dependent on a car.

“It’s nice to say we do it for environmental reasons and that, of course, is part of it but we just have never had the budget to have a really reliable car.

“With the cost of living crisis and higher fuel bills, I think a lot of people are taking a look at their car and thinking whether they really need it.”