Insurance for young drivers, road tax, MOT fees and the rest can seem often a little overwhelming - particularly if your earnings are low. One solution is to look for cheaper car insurance, and another is to get a better job.
Fortunately, Hoot can help you with both! Along with our great motor insurance quotes, we've put together a series of career guides for people with an interest in motoring.
We think pretty much anyone with a passion for cars can turn it into a well-paid career, and we've set out to prove it by producing dozens of guides covering every job from mechanic to valet, and from taxi driver to driving instructor.
This one concerns a profession that's close to our hearts here at Hoot - the motoring journalist.
What does a motoring journalist do?
He or she writes features on cars and the motoring industry for submission to a particular newspaper, magazine or website.
People tend to think that motoring journalism is all about schmoozing with F1 directors, test driving sports cars and generally living the high life at the expense of the world's car manufacturers - and there is an element of that. But you'll spend much more of your time hunched over a computer writing about it than you will at press junkets and track days.
After attending various meets and functions and writing them up, you'll have to liaise with editors and other staff who work for the paper or journal they're trying to get published in. Some motoring journalists write under contract to a particular title, whereas others work freelance for various editors on a piecemeal basis.
Am I the ideal candidate?
First of all, you've got to be a good writer, and that means being able to grab the reader's attention whatever your subject matter. It also means paying attention to the little things like spelling and grammar - get these wrong and most editors won't give you a second glance.
An obsession with cars and the motor industry is also a big help! It's much more satisfying to write about something you love and it'll improve the quality of your work, too.
Third, you'll need to be a pretty determined individual to make it as a motoring journalist. Contract work is hard to come by and freelance is a hit-and-miss affair at the best of times, but keep at it and your persistence will eventually be rewarded.
What qualifications do I need?
If you're looking for salaried work at a particular paper or magazine, most will expect a minimum of five GCSEs, including English, on your CV. However, the majority of applicants also have two A Levels, and around 30 percent are university graduates.
Besides that, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ) offers preliminary training and an exam for aspiring journalists. NCTJ accreditation will substantially improve your chances at interview.
If you choose the freelance route, however, you're going to be judged on the quality of your existing work rather than your qualifications - so put together a portfolio of your best pieces and anything you've had published before.
Will it make me a millionaire?
Journalists do have the potential to earn a great deal of money - some top flight reporters and editors earn as much as £100,000 a year. When you're just starting out in the trade, however, this kind of salary is going to seem virtually unreachable.
Most newspaper journalists earn between £6,000 and £12,000 in their first few years, with magazine feature writers doing slightly better at about £14,000. Obviously, freelancers' earnings vary depending on the amount and quality of work they put in.
Further info
For general advice on what it takes to become a journalist and information about preliminary exams and tuition, visit the NCTJ's website at http://www.nctj.com.
The Guild of Motoring Writers offers more specific advice on motor journalism, (http://www.guildofmotoringwriters.co.uk.)
Insurance for young drivers from Hoot
Planning on test driving a few cars in the not-so-distant future? In that case, you're going to need great young driver car insurance.
Here at Hoot, we think our motor insurance is some of the best available - and you'll think so too when you see the price on one of our quotes.
We can afford to offer such ridiculous prices on car insurance because we don't believe in spending money on services which don't benefit our clients directly. That means no advertising, and no renting expensive high street branches to try to impress potential customers.
We save so much money this way that our cheap young driver insurance premiums leave the competition standing. Get yourself one and see what we mean - it just takes a click of the button below.