Owning and running a car during university is no mean feat. Life is tough enough trying to pay the rent, tuition fees and the 
all-important ‘entertainment’ costs while steering clear of the overdraft without having to stump up for garage bills, insurance, petrol and tax for your pride and joy.
On the eve of the new university year, here are ways to stretch your student budget to make sure you can afford to stay on road and a few general pointers on how to find things like cheap car insurance for young drivers
Pay a fair price for car insurance
Car insurance is notoriously expensive for motorists that have only recently passed their driving test, but the cost can be reduced by being proactive and being thorough in how you go about getting covered. Nowadays, it’d be financial suicide not to check online first for the best deals possible before parting with such a substantial amount of money, especially when it could lead to savings of hundreds of pounds on an annual basis through tools like price comparison websites. It’s quick and easy to get page after page of different quotes to mull over.
Other methods of lowering the price of insurance premiums include lowering your annual mileage, offering to pay a higher voluntary excess and getting an alarm or immobilizer fitted. If you’re living at university then it’s likely that you’ll be doing minimal mileage anyway so there’s no point in overestimating when you come to get a quote as it means you’ll have to pay more.
Fill up at cost-effective petrol stations
The price of petrol in the UK varies from one petrol station to the next and it pays to pick and choose where best to fill up and be selective. Supermarkets tend to be the cheapest places for petrol and often also offer additional money-off incentives if you spend a certain amount in store, meaning it may be a shrewd move to do a big monthly shop and then fill up when it’s cheap to do so.
Once you’ve filled up, you want to ensure it lasts as long as possible and keeping your tyres inflated to the correct level will help to improve your fuel efficiency, as well avoiding harsh accelerating and braking. Certain supermarkets allow you to pump up your tyres free of charge at their petrol stations so you don’t even have to scramble around to find the exact change on the forecourt. The most obvious way, of course, to reduce your fuel consumption is to cut down on any unnecessary journeys and walk when possible. Lift share with your house-mates if applicable and take it in turns to drive to certain places.
Take immediate action to avoid car debt
If the writing is on the wall and you cannot afford your existing vehicle then downsizing immediately to a smaller car that’s cheaper to own and cheaper to run is the most effective way of quickly saving yourself potentially thousands of pounds annually. There are some real bargains available at the moment in the used car market as well.