As we prepare to bid farewell to another year, the nation’s collective mood becomes noticeably more optimistic. New Year's resolutions embody positivity because they’re personal pledges that reflect our short and long-term ambitions. Pre-January ‘to do’ lists are constructive, confident and upbeat for the same reason, while many people welcome the new year by giving themselves a good talking to, effectively recognising they could do better.

Frankly, however, I don’t sense the optimism, enthusiastic expectancy or even hopefulness we would ordinarily associate with a new beginning. Instead, 2023 promises to be a difficult year for many, primarily because money is tight and will get tighter.

On the horizon are more taxes, the level of which will soon be pushed to a post-war high. Let’s not forget that a series of expensive pandemic-induced lockdowns, coupled with energy price caps, must be paid for.

In such gloomy circumstances, people will attempt to save money wherever they can and although this column cannot go into detail and explain how the bills for lockdown and energy price guarantees will be settled, it can highlight half a dozen ways in which you may save on your motor insurance costs.

Several suggestions are possibly so obvious they’ve been overlooked, but that doesn’t make them any less effective when it comes to saving money.

For example, one insurer urges its customers to ‘make life as difficult as possible for a thief to steal your car’, listing a number of security devices such as an immobiliser or an approved alarm which, if fitted on your car, will result in the insurer giving the owner a discount on their annual insurance premium.

According to Ken Carter, head of insurance services at personal finance website Moneymapp.com: “Parking on a driveway or in a garage will also usually persuade insurers to lower premiums – though the garage option could be awkward: it’s believed that around 85pc-90pc of garages are full of so much household junk it’s impossible to get a car in as well.”

Driving a make and model from a low insurance group may also result in chunky savings. Every car registered in the UK is allocated to an insurance grouping created by the insurance industry. Allocation is determined by factors such as cost and length of time the vehicle takes to repair, as well as safety and security features. As you would probably expect, the lower the group a car is in, the lower its insurance costs.

Yet there are some car or driving-related attributes which appear certain to reduce insurance premiums, though in practice they’re not cut and dried.

For example, driving fewer miles each year may lower your annual premium – although not necessarily – and while many motorists believe that passing an advanced driving test automatically entitles them to an insurance discount, there is no guarantee that it will. It’s worth checking this with your insurer.

“Several insurers offer significant discounts if the driver is prepared to have a ‘black box’ fitted," says Mr Carter. “The technology constantly assesses driving quality and, provided the driver stays within the acceptable parameters set by the insurer, annual premiums will usually be lower than they would be if the box wasn’t fitted.”

In most instances, deciding to add a second driver will often result in lower insurance premia, but beware: the second driver must be considered ‘low risk’ because adding a young, newly-qualified driver will almost certainly increase insurance costs.

“Drivers can make additional savings if they can afford to pay their annual insurance premium up-front rather than settle it over time, normally 12 months,” notes Mr Carter. "Not least because insurers will sometimes charge interest if motorists pay by monthly instalments.”

For each year a motorist drives without making a claim on their insurance, they earn a no-claims bonus. If the motorist has not made a claim for at least five years, it could be worth them paying a premium to protect a potentially valuable no-claims bonus.

Finally, there could be merit in adding a voluntary excess to your compulsory excess, thereby lowering the annual insurance premium. However, in the event of a claim, the total sum you may recoup from the insurer will be net of the compulsory and voluntary excesses that have been deducted.

For more financial advice, check out Peter Sharkey’s regular blog, The Week In Numbers.

This column is for general information only and cannot be relied on as financial advice for individuals. Consult your professional adviser.