After the mortgage payment and taxes, car costs usually account for the next biggest line item in the household budget.
Multicar families have become the standard in recent decades. But with the economy putting the squeeze on household finances, eliminating a car can translate to huge savings.
How does an extra $62,000 sound?
Give up one of the family cars and sock away the monthly expenses and that's about how much you could save over five years, according to Heathrow, Fla.-based AAA.
"It's a very large expenditure that day after day is worth less. So it's a good place to look in the family budget," says Bill Gerhard, director of AAA financial services.
Shuttling your family around in one car isn't easy, but it's doable with proper planning.
Here are five suggestions that experts make for transitioning to a single set of wheels and making the most of the savings.