Here are some tips for making sure you spend right when living in London
Guest post by Zoe Price
The United Kingdom’s capital city, London, is one of the best places to live, not just in the UK, but in the whole of Europe. London is the financial, cultural, economic, and political capital of the UK – most capital cities tick only a few of these boxes. However, for all the many benefits of living in London, it is a very expensive city. Living in London isn’t cheap, as evidenced by the massive swell in population during working hours.
Living in London will be a challenge if you are earning less than average. Even if you somehow manage to find acceptable accommodation in London that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, you are still faced with the other costs involved in living there, such as food and transport. There’s no getting around the fact that living in London is expensive, but if you are able to spend your money sensibly, there’s no reason that you can’t enjoy the same lifestyle as those outside the capital.
The following spending tips are aimed at any Londoner who is looking to make whatever budget they have available to them last as long as possible. If you’ve been struggling to hang on to the money that you earn, the following tips will enable you to get as much as possible out of as little money as possible.
Save up Loose Change
Lots of people today have decided to go cashless. This means that, instead of spending physical money, such as coins and notes, people are relying entirely on their bank cards. However, there are still numerous situations where it makes more sense to use cash, and there are still businesses that will only let you spend the cash if you are paying under a certain amount. If you find yourself needing to spend physical cash, you will no doubt find yourself with change leftover. While this change can certainly be annoying, it also represents a fantastic opportunity to save money.
The highest denomination coin in the UK is the £2 coin; most coins are worth much less than this. As a result, many people are currently discarding their loose change, thinking that it is essentially useless. However, this loose change actually represents one of the best spending opportunities available to you. If you are able to hang onto this change, and you allow it to accumulate sufficiently, it can end up representing a significant amount of money.
Track Your Spending
The more you know about how you are spending your money, the easier you will find it to assign priorities to your spending. There are now a plethora of apps and other digital solutions that make it easy, or even automatic, to monitor how much you are spending and where you are spending it. Knowing exactly where your money is going is important if you are to get a handle on your spending.
As well as apps that enable you to enter your spending information manually, there are also a number of apps that will link up with your bank account. These apps, the ones that are linked directly with your bank account and or bank card, will automatically log what you spend and where you spend it.
Prioritise Your Spending
Being careful and aware when it comes to your spending does not mean that you should be aiming to spend as little as possible. In fact, good financial habits are about knowing when it is appropriate to spend your money, rather than simply trying to not spend it at all.
When you do spend money, it should be with purpose. You need to invest in your own health, one investment to definitely consider is a good bed. After a long days it is important to have a bed that supports you. If you find your current bed to be uncomfortable or unsatisfying, you might want to think about an upgrade. This is unlikely to be cheap, but it is something that is well worth spending money on. A good example of an excellent mattress is the Casper single mattress. This is a comfortable, premium mattress that is well worth the price – you can find information on Casper mattresses here. Not only is a Casper mattress great value but you can try it for 100 days risk-free. At least that way you know you’re spending your money in the right place.
When thinking about purposeful spending, it might be worth cutting out things that may not be as purposeful. For example, it might be time to reconsider your smoking habit (if you have one). That way you can save that money and reinvest in something much more purposeful. Then again, people have other vices too…
Rethink Your Vices
Whether it is smoking, drinking, or fast food, we all have our vices. One thing that all vices have in common is that they cost us money. If you want to make the money you have available to you go as far as possible, cutting out your vices is one of the best things you can do. Whether it’s smoking, drinking or gambling, spending money on short-term and immediate pleasures will always come at the expense of your long-term goals.
Living in London is always going to be more expensive than living elsewhere in the UK. However, as long as you spend and save your money sensibly, there’s no reason that you can’t live the same kind of life that you would anywhere else. The biggest challenge will be mustering the necessary willpower to stick with your new spending habits. If you can do this, saving money will become second nature.
