Learning to drive and getting a car was something I personally put off for the longest time I could. After moving away from home to come to university, though, the need for a reliable form of transport becomes more important: there’s only so many 6 hour Megabus journeys one man can take before he starts losing his mind. I’m not even going to lie to you, getting up and running as a young driver is a real hassle. But oh my, is it worth it. Let me take you through my crash-course on getting yourself on the road.
Learning to Drive
First things first, if you haven’t already, apply for your provisional driving license. It’s going to knock you back £34, but without it you won’t be able to learn how to drive. Having a provisional gives you access to lessons on all roads excluding motorways – it’s also a valid form of ID, and a heck of a lot cheaper than a new passport, so it’s not a bad way to spend the cash.
Once this is out of the way, it’s time to get yourself some lessons. I would highly recommend getting a friend who drives to show you the ropes a few times before you go for lessons. It doesn’t have to be anything intensive, just get someone to bring you to an empty car-park and show you the basics. I say this because the actual learning process can get very expensive. You want to be as clued up as possible before you start, so you learn quicker and don’t have to waste away too much time in the learning phase.
Try to avoid doing this
In terms of actually getting some lessons, the driving standards agency recommend a minimum of 47 hours in lessons before taking your test. With the average driving lesson costing £24 these days, this can sometimes rack up to over a grand. Like I said earlier, a good way to cut costs is to get a friend or family member to give you a few lessons in your spare time. This means less paid tuition, however only take the test when you’re absolutely ready. You don’t want to spend all your time and money on re-sits!
All this talk of money and expenses may be scaring you off the idea of getting a car already, however, keep in mind that once your lessons are done, they’re done. As with many points of getting yourself on the road, it will cost a lot to get going, but once it’s all sorted, you won’t be splashing out nearly as much.
Also, there’s a range of places that offer affordable lessons for young people. You don’t have to pay it all at once, sites like Pass n’ Go offer lots of different packages and courses to suit your budget.
Buying Your Car
We’re thinking a bit far into the future here, as truth be told it will take you a while to learn how to drive. Don’t get disheartened though, you’ll get there eventually, and if you do your research and work hard it won’t take nearly as long as you think.
However, even at this stage it’s important to start looking into it. There are many ways to buy and finance this purchase, it all depends on your personal preference and budget. Here are what I think are the best methods for broke students like you and me.
Dealers
Ok, maybe not this guy
These are the standard show rooms or centres you see in every town and city. Obviously the benefit of this method is that you can see a variety of cars first-hand. However, be warned that you will have a salesman trying to shift his goods onto you. So, it’s important to keep a level head and always remember that you don’t have to walk out with the car that specific day.
You can get a range of purchases when you use a dealership, some which offer you monthly repayments and others that would ask you to pay all at one. Of cause, choose whatever your budget allows.
Used cars
This is a good option for students as you can find some really great deals. However, beware that some second-hand cars may come with more problems than you bargained for. There’s a lot of Facebook groups and websites for used cars in local areas, however it’s vital that you check it out first. You don’t want to be spending more money on repairs than you do the car itself!
With all this mind, if I had to offer a best method for students to buy a cheap car that isn’t going to fall apart, I’d recommend buying second-hand online. Many are dubious about this, but if you do your research then it turns out cheaper, safer and more convenient. The most obvious starting point here would be Ebay. Providing the seller has positive feedback, then you will generally be okay, just make sure to ask the right questions.
Another option is the one I personally used when buying my first car, which was to buy second-hand online from a dedicated dealership. The great thing about this is that the cars are checked by experts and delivered straight to your door. This means you won’t be influenced by questionable sales-people and can take your time to pick something that suits you. The site I personally used was Carspring. This site offers a tool to work out your payment plan, as well as delivering it to your door. This is a relatively new method of buying vehicles, but the way technology is going, it’s definitely going to become more and more common.
Insurance
Just in case
Here we are, the final stretch. This is normally the part that people start to get worrisome about due to finances. Undeniably, insuring yourself can be stupidly expensive especially for new drivers. It’s good to do your research on this depending on your circumstances so you can cut costs where possible. There are many ways to make your insurance cheaper, such as insuring your vehicle to multiple people, or even getting a box installed to monitor your driving abilities. I’d personally use a site like Confused to compare different insurance plans. It just saves you the hassle of shopping around.
All in all…
Yes, all these steps can seem quite overwhelming and expensive, however it will be totally worth it once you’re up and running. Once you’ve sorted you lessons out and have your first car, the rest will get easier with time – and cheaper.
At last the road map has finally been set out for the end of all the
restrictions that we’ve been living under this past year. If you’ve not
seen it already June 21st has been set as the date when all
COVID_19 restrictions will be lifted. Howeve
As all students know, throughout the semester you can become increasingly
preoccupied with meeting all your deadlines, applying for jobs,
volunteering, working, and socialising. You can be easily consumed with all
your responsibilities and often forget to
Groceries are the second-largest expense on the student spending list just
after the rent. However, there are a few things which you can do to limit
your food spending. Cooking on a budget doesn’t mean eating less or more
boring. It’s the opposite! It’s al
Moving to university is never an easy step, but students this year have had
it worse than ever with two national lockdowns and many limiting
restrictions. You might have found it difficult to meet people, stop
feeling home-sick, or actualise your universit
Staying motivated during the winter lockdown is a challenge for us all.
Although lockdown is testing in any season, it’s easy to feel sluggish and
like you’d rather sit on the sofa when the nights are drawing in at 5pm.
You’ve probably had days when you ju
The Government has recently announced a support package of £50 million for
students who have been affected by the Covid 19 pandemic. This is an
addition to the £20 million that was announced in December of 2020.
For many university students the January assignments have finally been
submitted and semester one has come to an end. Whether you’ve already
started your second semester, or whether you don’t start back again until
next week, it’s always good to take some
Health and wellbeing have been spotlight topics for the last few years, and
rightly so! We are all aware of the importance of being kind to others,
checking in our friends, and how it’s OK to ask for help if you need it!
Our mental health and well-being ar
Both in student and professional lives we lead one’s general success or
lack thereof is often boiled down to a calculation of little victories and
failures. We compare ourselves to our peers, we quantify our performance—be
it through per cents on our essay
If you’re a student on a budget, you probably already know that it’s a
challenge to make your student loan stretch until the end of the semester –
and that’s before you’ve considered Christmas. Perhaps you’ve saved some of
your money during lockdown as you
Exams are a daunting part of the university experience for any student.
This year the introduction of online learning and assessments has left many
students apprehensive for the upcoming examinat
The long-awaited Christmas break is finally here. With the extra pressures
on students this year, to adapt to online learning and to complete their
assignments under the additional strain of the pandemic, many students will
likely be looking forward to som
Mental health…it’s a complicated topic. Knowing what it is is important,
and how yours might change and what to do is useful for maintaining the
happiest version of yourself. So what is mental health, how is it affected,
and what can we do?
Carbon Neutral is a term we hear a lot these days. From UK pledges to be
it, to companies telling us it’s what we should aim for. It seems such a
large concept, achieved by mass effort towards a common goal, but what
actually is it, and how can the single
As the new academic term is underway, many students have moved away from
home and relocated to embark on their studies at university. While you may
feel that moving away to a new city is a big step outside of your comfort
zone, it’s simply just the next chapt
With most UK universities beginning their Autumn terms somewhere near the
end of September, it’s time to start thinking about heading back to class.
Over the summer break, it’s easy to get out of your old routines, and with
the added factor of the coronavi
IQ student accommodations is a great place to find your next place whilst
studying, but with so many flexible choices, it can be hard to work out
what’s best for you! So which are the five best properties on
Let’s face it: freshers’ is probably the moment you look forward to the
most when it comes to starting university. After all the chore of packing
your life away into boxes and swotting for exams, meeting new people and
letting loose in pub crawls or club n
Living with your family is often hard enough but going away to university
is a whole new kettle of fish. You’ve more than likely never met the people
you’re going to be living with, and there’s no guarantee that they’re going
to be clean and tidy, and even
As the new academic year draws nearer and nearer, both new and returning
students are beginning to prepare for the return to university. Looking
towards September, there are many things students can do to make sure that
they’re ready to return. Whether you’re comin
As many recent graduates begin to enter the job market, many individuals
may find themselves facing the dauting prospect of an online interview. Due
to the COVID_19 restrictions, and the surge of online video technologies,
such as Zoom, many companies have
Our research shows that some students think that finding accommodation is
more stressful than finding a University place through clearing. Things are
likely to be a little different this year, so here are our top tips for
finding accommodation during clear
This year Accommodation For Students are working with a number of leading
student accommodation operators as part of our 2020 clearing campaign. Each
partner provides high quality student accommodation and is working closely
with our team to respond quickl
Ugh bills. Do I want to check my bank account…nope I really don’t want to.
Saving on bills is a proper issue, but I don’t want to save on my bills at
the expense of the environment! So here’s a few ways you can do both!
For many students, the return to the pub has been long awaited. Three
months after the initial lockdown began, Boris Johnson gave the go ahead
for pubs and restaurants to re-open their doors to the public on 4 th July. This announcement marks the thir
Bread? Check. Milk? Check. Drinks for club night? Check.
These are some of the typical items on a student weekly shopping list.
Other popular features are cheese, pasta (can’t forget the pasta) mince,
fruit and veg. Budgeting is something drilled into us
The development of the coronavirus pandemic was as rapid as it was
confusing: everyone thought it was an overreaction to a virus ‘less deadly
than the flu’, but it managed to quickly mutate into a serious crisis that
threatened our well-established student life. Du
It is important to take some precautions when you are using Accommodation
for Students, particularly if you are trying to book a room in a property
without viewing it.
Accommodation for Students has been around since 2000 and during this time
Over the past few months, the world has changed in ways previously
unimaginable. With the job market taking a plunge, and uncertainty becoming
all too familiar, many individuals are choosing to use their extra time
indoors to enhance their CV and career prosp
Universities, as independent institutions have complete governance over how
they structure their courses and which platforms they use to deliver
sessions. However, with the global pandemic changing the way society
operates, universities must take decisions
After the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic this March, many UK
Universities underwent rapid contingency measures to swiftly convert
teaching from the traditional face-to-face lecture style, to online or
virtual platforms. While in March, this online co
The unprecedented national outbreak of the coronavirus has changed the
platforms for viewing accommodation. While, previously students were able
to preview their potential accommodation choices at University open days,
such large events, for the foreseeabl
Since the national outbreak of the corona virus, many UK Universities have
taken the decision to deliver the summer term online, encouraging students
to leave campus and return home. When this was announced in March, many
students and lecturers assumed tha
Over the last few weeks Accommodation for Students has been taking feedback
from students and the landlords that advertise properties on our website.
It is clear that both students and landlords have been hit by the current
crisis and in some cases are str
What does the future hold for the holidaymakers and travellers of post-brexit Britain?
With yet another parliamentary rejection, we are no closer to finding out. All that can be said is that, at this point, it’s anyone’s guess.
Will you be able to travel visa-free?
The mere mention of the word vegan is often enough to make the vast majority of us roll our eyes in judgement (I know, I’ve done it too…) however, it can’t be denied that the term and lifestyle have become increasingly popular over the last few years. On Instagram alone, #vega
When we hear the word ‘private’, we tend to think of things such as private education and the big price tag that often comes with it. However, fear not! This is a common misconception and far from the actual truth. Private Halls are usually a block (or blocks) of shared flats
The age-old question that plagues every student and the answer is... There is no answer. Starting the search for accommodation is a personal experience and therefore different for everyone. Some students will find what they are looking for with relative ease and others will fe
For students who have made the unfortunate mistake of not packing a lunch from home before heading out the door to lectures, it can be tricky to find affordable yet still delicious food on the go.
Although the idea of organising a student house when you’ve only just moved into student halls may seem a little alarming, for some students, the sooner the house is sorted, the better.
When it comes to student halls, most people think of little shoe box sized, damp, cell like rooms where students can touch each wall by spreading their arms.
However, more and more universities are realising the staggering finan
The time has come, you’ve moved into your second year of university, and you’re pretty sure that you’re ready for the year ahead. However, whilst you may think you’re a dab hand at the whole un
If you’ve aced your CV, got through the interview process and have been accepted into a new graduate role, you’re probably waiting with baited breath for your first day at work to roll around to your doorstep.
