When you first arrive in the UK you will quickly realise the UK is a really expensive place to live. It is especially expensive when you live in London. The main reason for this is every British pound is worth approximately two Australian dollars. That means the savings you have put aside to set yourself up in the UK is halved the second your feet land on UK soil. Combine this with London being a major city in the world and you can get some idea of how difficult it is to live cheap in the UK.
What happens is very quickly you will start to consciously convert everything into Australian dollars before you pay for anything to make sure it’s worth it. (Note: I kept doing this well into my first year in the UK).
The only solution to this problem is to start working in the UK and living off the pounds coming in. Before this happens though, you will need to learn how to live cheap in the UK or at least as cheap as you can.
As most people will have a limited amount of money set aside for the UK, it makes sense to live frugally at least for the first couple months while you establish yourself. You may decide to live like this for your entire time in the UK. I personally made this decision very early on so I could live cheap in the UK and then spend my savings on travelling as much as possible. I do not regret it one bit. However each to their own.
How do you live cheap in the UK?
The major costs for everyone can be split into housing, daily living, transport, food and entertainment. Living frugally requires you to use your money smartly and sparingly in each of these major areas.
Housing
- Aim to arrive in the UK at the start of Summer (March-June). Not only will it give you time to get ready for a UK winter but it means you don’t need to spend money on expensive winter clothes straight away. I recommend you buy all your winter clothes in the UK. They just don’t make winter clothes warm enough in Australia
- Live with family and friends if you can. Even if this is only short term it will help you immensely to stay rent free somewhere while you get things organised
- No family or friends in the UK? If not, then try a hostel. Airbnb works if you have the money but for the sake of this article, hostels are your main option until you can rent a room in a share house or apartment. London hostels are not known to be the best but it’s only temporary
- Try Couch surfing
- Pet sitting: You can try Trusted House Sitters to pet sit for a few weeks while you find your own place and organise things. Yes you will need to walk pets every day but it’ll be much less expensive than paying for accommodation
- Use Spare Room to find shared housing. Most people can’t afford to rent an entire apartment
- Become an au pair
Daily living
- Buy a sim as soon as you can as it will be hard to do many things without data. The best sim will really be dependent on whether you will have good coverage where you are based. O2 and Giff Gaff (which runs off the O2 network) are popular right now as they have good coverage, have good deals and have good international roaming options. I use to use Three which was great for me. However, they do not offer free roaming in the EU since Brexit and there’s mixed reviews on their coverage
- When you do find a home use the Moneysavingexpert website to find cheap gas, water, electricity and internet. Instead of buying broadband, you could also use your phone’s data by using your phone as a hot spot for your laptop or computer
- Don’t bother buying a TV licence. You did not just fly to the other side of the world to watch TV. Get out and do something! If I haven’t convinced you, watch Youtube or Netflix instead
- Buy cheap clothes from Primark. It’s not the best quality but it is cheap and very popular
- Buy cheap furniture and household good from Facebook Marketplace, Wilkos, B&M, Poundland or The Range. The big Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury megastores will also have household products
- You can also try Freecycle or Freegle, community run sites where people post up things they are willing to give away instead of throw in the bin
Transport
- It’s going to sound simple but just walk everywhere. It’s not too hilly and although London is a big city, the city centre is quite easy to get around. In many instances, you will easily beat an uber and in some situations you will beat the Tube. It’s also a good way to explore a city and to just embrace the atmosphere, the vibes etc. Just be aware there are some dodgy areas in London where you should not walk.
- Try cycling. In London, you can hire a public Santander bike from one of the bike stands found all around London’s streets. It’s only £1.65 for up to 30 minutes of use. E-bikes will cost a little more.
- If you need to travel further or if you do not want to walk or cycle there are two other transport options in London which are a little more expensive but can be very convenient (Yes Uber and other car taxi services are available but they are not cheap):
- The Tube, DLR, London Overground, Elizabeth line and National Rail services are different types of train services. I will explain the London train service in another article. However, train services can be expensive if you use them frequently and need to cross into different London zones. There are Pay as you go and Travel card options. Try to use these services during off peak times if you can. The best way to keep these costs low is to find a place to live close to your work
- Buses and Trams: Buses and Tram fees can be split into Pay as you go fares with daily or weekly capping or Bus and Tram passes (one day, 7 day, monthly, annual). Currently the Bus and Tram fees for an adult are as follows:
- Pay as you go: (the charges are capped or have a maximum limit for daily and weekly use)
One trip: £1.75
Daily cap: £5.25
Weekly cap (Monday-Sunday): £24.70 - Bus and Tram passes:
One day: £6.00
7 day: £24.70
Monthly: £94.90
Annual: £988 - Note:
- You can pay with a contactless card (pay pass) or an Oyster card (you can buy this at the airport or at any train station)
- Only pay for your bus and tram fares with the same card in order to hit the capped rates.
- Weekly capping is based on a Monday to Sunday period. If you start using the service on a Thursday, the cap limit will restart on Monday so it will be better for you to get a 7 day bus and tram pass
- The cap limits will vary with which zones you travel through and the times you travel (peak/off peak)
- Depending on how and where you are travelling, the Pay as you go fares may be cheaper than buying a bus/tram pass
- A Hopper fare occurs when you move from one bus/tram to another bus/tram within one hour of first using your same card. If you do this, the Pay as you go fare for multiple trips will still cost just £1.75.
If you travel on the Tube, DLR, London Overground, River Bus Services, IFS Cloud Cable car or Elizabeth line in between Hopper journeys you will be charged standard fares for this. If you go back onto a bus or tram after travelling on the Tube the Hopper fare may still apply for the bus/tram leg of your journey as long as it is still within one hour of initially using your card to travel on a bus or tram.
- Pay as you go: (the charges are capped or have a maximum limit for daily and weekly use)
- Don’t buy a car if you live in London. I know in Australia it’s necessary but when you live in a city like London, Bristol or Manchester there’s really no need. UK road trips and castle hunting are great but having a car is not necessary for at least 80% of your travel. UK cities are much closer and you will be flying over to Europe a lot.
Food
- Buy your groceries at Aldi. It’s the most affordable grocery with good produce and products
- Make use of Tesco’s £3.90 meal deal for lunches: There are some magical things in the UK and the famous Tesco meal deal is near the top of that list. You can buy a sandwich, a drink and a snack (crisps or a chocolate). You will never find a cheaper lunch with this much value. I have lost count on how many meal deals I have eaten and the best thing is most of the major UK supermarkets offer a meal deal now.
- Become a temporary vegetarian. For some people this is not an option. However, meat is expensive in the UK and most of the time, in my opinion, the quality is pretty questionable. I found I unintentionally started to eat a lot more vegies, tofu and Quorn vegan/vegetarian foods while I was living in the UK. However, reducing the amount of meat in your diet will cut your grocery bill considerably
- If you have a few flatmates, try Oddbox, a place where you can order a box full of wonky shaped vegetables for cheaper. The only problem is if you plan to travel a lot it may not be worth it as they use a subscription model
- Try apps like Toogoodtogo and Karma. These apps allow you to find local restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets who have left over food they would otherwise throw out at the end of the day. Instead of wasting the food they sell bags of this food at low prices. Not only can you find good deals here but you will be reducing UK’s food waste crisis
Entertainment / Things to do
You may be stressing about finding a job and finding a place to rent. However, you have also just arrived in London and it is time to start exploring. I understand if you want to get things set up as fast as possible but you cannot spend every moment of your day doing this so take a breather and just experience London (the place where most people start their time in the UK). Luckily there are things which you can do which won’t cost you much, or in some cases, nothing at all:
- Check out some of the best museums in the world: The Natural History museum, the British museum, the Science museum and the National Gallery. If you want to go somewhere a bit left of field, try God’s Own Junkyard
- Explore all the markets: Camden market, Greenwich markets, Borough markets or my favourite, Maltby street markets!
- Get on a free walking tour. There are lots to choose from. I heard the Jack the Ripper one is good
- Hire a Santander bike and explore London by push bike. Please do this on a weekend and not during London’s peak hour
- Wander through the city and check out the sights: the Tower bridge, Big Ben, Hyde Park or the bubble gum art on Millennium bridge
- For more exercise, you can try Tennis for Free
And that is it! I know it’s hard to live cheap in the UK especially when the cost of living continues to increase. However, just know there are many people who have arrived just like you, who roughed it just like you will and who came out the other side stronger just like you will. Just see it as part of the adventure and good luck!