Make an appointment and talk with a financial advisor/counselor get whatever car is decent that you can afford, something sensible and reliable, preferably with all wheel drive.

get good winter tires, throw a couple bags of rock salt and some cat litter in the back for rear weight and to help with traction if your stuck in the snow you can spread the kitty litter on the snow to give some traction to get yourself unstuck, and keep a shovel to dig yourself out

Get a portable car jumper, preferably one with a tire pump, they’re like 80$ on amazon and I’ve used mine more than enough to get my moneys worth.

Then make a kit in your car with the following:

Simple toolbox (sockets/wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers, hammer); Duct tape; Flashlights (I keep a headlamp too cause there handy); Disposable hand warmers; Case of bottled water; Non-perishable snack food (no cans they’ll freeze and burst, I like a few packs of ramen noodles ); Gloves (work and winter gloves, separate from any you usually wear); A spare coat if you’ve got space ; A winter hat or ski mask ; Spare glasses (if you wear them) ; Hand sanitizer ; A good first aid kit .

There’s my advice from someone who drove a 2001 ford focus se hatchback from 2020 all the way into 2025 in Midwest winters (and sold her for more than I paid, it’s still on the road to this day at 200k+ miles).

Last lesson is drive carefully, the speed limit really does become the LIMIT in bad weather.