Learning to drive doesn't come cheap but there are a number of ways to cut the costs, here's how. There is nothing you can do to alter the cost of the mandatories of learning to drive, but once they are done the rest is up to you! You can learn with an approved driving instructor which comes to a cost of around £20-£24 an hour. Alternatively, you can get insured on someone else’s car with a learner insurance policy and learn with someone who is over the age of 25 and has held a licence for over three years. But better still, you can combine the two together to get professional tuition whilst also gaining unlimited practice and saving money.

• Block book your lessons. Driving instructors often offer discounts if you book 10 lessons or more at a time. Before block booking make sure that you are getting on well with your driving instructor and ensure that they are helping you to progress after each lesson.

• Ask your instructor if they do any free lessons for recommending a friend. Some driving schools will give you a free lesson for recommending a friend, which will save you around £24 – each friend!

• Complimenting your driving lessons by getting some extra practice in somebody else’s car is recommended by the DSA and can help you to pass your test at a much faster rate. For this you will need L-plates. Save money and look into purchasing them online at a much cheaper price. It is also a good idea to ask friends and family for their old ones, most are magnetic now which makes it easy to transfer them from car to car.

• Make sure you are ready for when you book both your theory and practical test, as to keep retaking them can ruin both your confidence and cost you a great deal more than is needed.

• Beware of unofficial theory test booking websites. Make sure you book your theory from the official website to ensure that you aren’t paying over the odds (which can be as much as £48). Unofficial websites often have the DVLA featured throughout so they can easily be mistaken for the real thing. Some state that the £48 covers unlimited tests if you do not pass – however make sure you read the small print, because some websites have been known to only let those who were one mark away from passing to retake. However, we do have some good news. The theory test price is reducing year on year and from October this year the theory test will be reduced from £31 to £25 in October 2014, and then to £23 in October 2015. If you book now for after October 2014 you will get the test for the new price, so it might be worth the wait and use it as an excuse to get a few months revision in!

• If you have a Tesco Clubcard and have collected some vouchers, then you can use these towards some driving lessons.  If you collect £60 in vouchers, you can get six 1-hour lessons, books, a CD-rom, L-plates and 2 hours on a simulator – which is a great deal for what isn’t real money, right?

• Depending on your area it might be a good idea to look into local driving instructors as they often have cheaper rates. If you are wary about going with a less well known driving school compared to driving school giants like the AA and BSM, then try and ask friends and family for recommendations and check out reviews on social media pages.

• If you are a student and have a NUS card, keep up to date with www.NUS.org.uk to cut the cost of learning to drive and find the latest offers from driving schools.

• Pass plus is worth considering once you have passed. The training includes tests in extreme weather conditions, motorways and driving at night, which will not only help to prepare you for real road driving but it will also save you money off your insurance once you have passed.

Get a quote now for extra practice in somebody else's car. Read Chloe's Google+ page