I went without a car for decades, even in the first few years of having children, and reckon I saved >GBP200K as a result (plus kept in better shape etc.). But that was with the benefit of:

- living in cities with good public transport (as a child I lived in some remote areas and appreciate that it would be pretty much impossible without a car).

- living in the UK (some countries are even more difficult, see e.g. the food bank lines in the US where you need a car even though you can't afford food[0]).

BTW, hadn't seen that Thatcher quote before: "If a man finds himself a passenger on a bus having attained the age of 26, he can count himself a failure in life."[1] but it only re-inforces my view that, if you are ever in doubt about which viewpoint to take on any subject, simply find out what Thatcher believed (or Thatcherites believe), and the good and correct viewpoint will be the exact opposite:-)

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22886064

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jun/07/a-momen...