Picking out a nice, new car in a dealer's lot is just the beginning of vehicle ownership. Once you've secured a loan and arranged payments, you'll need an auto insurance policy on the car before the dealer will let you drive away. To avoid the shock of realizing that your total car costs will be much higher than expected because of the insurance premium, you might want to think about the following life adjustments you can make that can slash insurance costs and improve the overall quality of your life.

Return to School

It may puzzle you to discover that in many cases, more education will mean something when it's time for insurers to arrive at your quote. It's thought that those who have reached higher education levels are less likely to cause vehicle accidents than those with little or no education. If you have been considering returning to school for an advanced degree or your first bachelor's degree anyway, doing so before you secure a new insurance policy could be a smart move. With more education, your insurance costs will be lower, but you'll also find that your career options expand and you might even score a higher salary

Move

Another thing you may want to do to both improve your life and lower insurance-related costs is to work toward moving into a safer neighborhood out of the city. City drivers often find that their insurance premiums are higher for a couple of reasons. For one thing, being around so many other drivers and cars increases the chances of collisions. In addition, when population density rises, there's a chance that more crime, particularly car-related crime, could occur. Of course, if you can afford to move to a place in a great neighborhood, you can enjoy your lower insurance premium while feeling happy about your new digs.

Consider Home Work

If you've been thinking about starting a business out of your house, that might shave a few dollars from your insurance costs. That's because you won't be dealing with the morning or evening commute and therefore, are probably not as likely to get into an accident as someone who is driving many miles to and from work each day. If you'll be using your car for work in any way though, be sure to talk through your options with an insurance agent. Your new business could not only drive down insurance premiums, but you'll have a great new source of income and more personal freedom too.

If you're able to put one or more of these pointers into place before getting your car, you may feel better about your life in addition to getting affordable insurance coverage for the new car you'd like to get. For the best deal, you might want to discuss your situation with insurance agents so that your policy is well in place before you choose a car.

If you're in the Chicago, IL, area I recommend visiting Metropolitan Insurance Service Consultants.