How to Make It Happen?
Purchasing a car is one of those milestones most people have set for their lives. It’s a sign of status and financial stability. Buying a car is one of the first big feats of one’s adult life. And it’s as good of an early-life goal as any to work towards. Owning a car offers you a great amount of personal freedom and boosts your confidence considerably. So let’s move on to answering the big questions.
Is it possible to buy a car while studying at college? It is absolutely possible. Even without help from rich parents. It’s not going to be easy. But it’s not as hard as you think, either. It takes plenty of work and dedication, as well as a certain amount of strategic thinking and just a smidge of luck. Here are the steps most people have to go through on this treacherous journey.
Additional Income
Before you even start considering buying yourself a car, you’ll have to spend a lot of time building a budget. A vehicle can prove to be quite an investment, especially for a college student. It will most likely take most of the life savings you managed to accumulate so far. So the first thing you want to do when getting ready for such an investment is to find an additional source of income.
Now, since you still have to worry about performing at college, the selection of jobs you can consider is rather small. It is rarely an option to work a full-time job and study simultaneously. And even part-time jobs can sometimes interfere with your education. Studying should be your first priority. An ideal job should fulfill these criteria:
- Part-time
- Possibility to work remotely
- Entry-level
A remote part-time job will hopefully give you enough space to deal with all of your college assignments and have at least some time for yourself. If you feel that you are having problems in college you can always find an online paper writer or online service that will help you deal with these problems. However, it is still very easy to get overwhelmed by this additional workload. And once you let one part of your life slip, it can all come crashing down very quickly in an avalanche of stress and deadlines. s.
So if you feel like the mounting workload is about to get the best of you, your first priority is to try and fix that issue as soon as possible. Clean up all of the deadlines and return to your regular steady pace before it starts impacting your performance. It can be hard to do alone, especially when you are already exhausted by the constant work. But you can have an online study help site where you can find the help you need, like how to write an analytical essay guide, or a lot of free tools and professional study help.
While remote and part-time criteria narrow your field of search, entry-level one attempts to widen it as much as possible. It mostly eliminates the requirement for any sort of certification or work experience. That, in turn, allows you to get into virtually any field even before you are finished with your major.
This approach to finding yourself a college job attempts to maximize your odds of success and your level of personal comfort. The downside of that, however, is frequently the pay. You are unlikely to find an entry-level position that provides you with a decent income. Add a part-time format to it and you get a pretty small salary.
Working With a Limited Budget
Now that you have developed a budget for your purchase, it’s time to start looking at your options. The size of your savings puts heavy constraints on your selection. Brand-new racing cars are probably out of your reach for now. But do you really need one? Most likely, you don’t. While it does provide some benefits in terms of social status, it’s simply not worth the money you’ll have to put into it.
What you are trying to do here is balance out your needs and wants with the price associated with them. When people think of cars, the most common parameter that pops into their minds is speed. In this case, speed is the last thing you should think about. Your first priority should be a safety rating, cost-efficiency, and personal comfort.
Once you narrow it down a bit to a couple of models, you might realize that the options you are looking at are still a bit too pricey. The car of your downgraded dreams is so close and yet so far. No worries, there is a solution. There is a difference in price between a car straight from the factory and a second-hand one in a good condition. Use this disparity in your favor.
Pay special attention to the legitimacy of the deal you are offered. If a price for a decent car is too good to be true – it probably is. Don’t get persuaded by some facebook dealer offering you a trade of a lifetime.
Make sure all the paperwork is in order before you make the official purchase. Unless you want to spend a couple of extra hours on your next traffic stop trying to explain to a bunch of angry police officers where and how you got that car that may or may not be reported as stolen.
Making a Responsible Choice
The characteristics of the car is what should influence the decision to purchase it the most. When making that choice, you should be very honest with yourself about what it is you want and what it is you need. Statistics show that younger drivers tend to choose lighter and faster cars. They also tend to use those cars to the fullest of their performance capabilities more frequently than not. Which obviously influences the rate of car accidents they get into.
Consider ignoring the ‘cool’ characteristics and concentrating on a more practical side of the deal. The weight and size of the car (the bigger and heavier, the better), the safety rating, structural design, etc. It may not be as stylish, but it will definitely count if you get into an accident.
Final Words
Even if you manage to find a perfect job that won’t interfere with your studies, it will still take some time before you can make a car purchase at last. Putting aside a fraction of your income can take years. There are many smaller things that will tempt you with immediate gratification. But if you are determined enough to keep true to your goal, you will manage to become the proud owner of a motor vehicle sooner rather than later.