<prompt> Human: This sub has been incredibly useful in the past so I turn to you guys again. I just graduated college with 0 debt and got a job that pays me 70kyr. Take home is about 54k or about 4450month. Just signed a new lease with 2 roommates and rent is 710month with utilities running another 100. I need to buy a car because so far I have been commuting to work on a rental which is extremely expensive. Now that I have a couple of paychecks and the security deposit on the apartment rental is taken care of, I can think about buying a car. Im in Long Island, NY and there are benefits to having an electric hybrid car like being able to drive in the car pool lane my commute to and fro work is about 1 hour without the lane and about 35-40 mins with the lane and fewer tolls, better parking etc. My workplace has free EV charging and there is a federal tax credit for buying a new car up to 7500 which I believe I am fully eligible for and a NYS rebate of up to 2000 depending on the car and model etc. Im considering buying a Prius prime which will get me about 4500 in federal tax credit and 1100 in NYS rebate. The car itself is about 32k with all taxes and fees included. My credit is good albeit age of accounts is low and I was quoted a payment of 450month with 6k down payment at 2.9 for 60mos through my credit union. I would really really like to save 2k per month to save for grad school which I plan to attend in about 2 or 3 yrs so the job is temporary. Other living expenses food, entertainment etc are about 400 per month. The biggest unknown right now is car insurance. I had a car before for about a year but it was registered to my permit NY State lets you drive with an international license and NY permit and just got my American license a month ago. Have been a licensed driver in another country for over 4 years. My previous insurance was about 170month through a very shady insurance company and GEICO quoted me about 360 for this new car. This seems absurdly high but its the cheapest quote I got. I have even done a defensive driving course last year. So my questions are multiple. Is this the right car for me? Or should I get something cheaper? How do I get a better insurance rate? I can also get renters from the same company if that helps. My roommate is also willing to be part of the same policy if its cheaper for us and my understanding is that you can add people from the same address to 1 car insurance policy. And finally is my budgeting fine? Should I cut back somewhere? Is trying to save 2k per month reasonable?Thanks!!  <response>: Yeah buy a cheaper car, insurance goes up with car value and at 60 months financing you wont be close to paying it off until you are well into grad school. I would recommend finding a 10kish reliable used car and trying to find someone to carpool with so you can use the HOV lane. 