You love to save money, right? Everybody does. Even when we're NOT in the middle of a recession there's something extremely satisfying about hanging on to your paycheck and watching your savings account grow…and grow…and grow. But if you're going to pad your savings account the way you'd like to you need to take advantage of every opportunity you can find to cut corners-and that includes finding ways to save big on your auto insurance.

The path to cheap auto insurance isn't as obscure and fraught with peril as many people think. As a matter of fact, finding cheap auto insurance is actually pretty easy. The first step is to cut your mileage. The more time you spend on the road, the more you're going to pay for the privilege. If you can hop a commuter bus to work, carpool or telecommute rather than hitting the highways every morning you're going to watch your auto insurance rates go plummeting.

The next step is to take a look at your car. Your insurance company is going to offer you all kinds of discounts, so anything you can do to pump up the safety and security of your car is going to be a short term investment for a long term gain. Simple things like seat belts and anti-lock brakes can shave up to 10% (or more) off your insurance premiums. And if you were to, say, take it to the next level and install a fuel switch or an electronic GPS tracking system that made it impossible for your car to get up to any weekend hijinks you could watch that number climb even higher.

It's like this. Auto insurance companies hate paying out claims. Oh, they'll do it. After all, that's what you pay them for! But they don't have to like it, and the hit to their profit and loss statement could have them taking a good, hard look at whether or not they want to continue to insure you at all. On the flip side, anything you can do to minimize the chances that you're going to need to file a claim in the near future can only be good news for your insurance premiums.

Once you've maximized your discount potential it's time to start shopping around. Even if you've already got a decent insurance company that you really like working with its going to pay to scope out some new auto insurance quotes. Why? Because while many companies have been raising their renewal rates for their current customers they're giving their new ones the best deal possible on their insurance coverage.

Most people are creatures of habit, and insurance companies know it. They know that you're usually not going to take the time to hunt around for a better quote on your auto insurance when you've got a good deal going where you're at, so they have the freedom to raise your rates with impunity. As long as it's nothing too drastic, how are you ever going to know?

Stop the cycle and help yourself to some ultra cheap auto insurance by maxing out your discounts, shopping around and then kicking back with the low priced insurance coverage you deserve!