how to live a thriftier life in London, and beyond!
Welcome to the 12 DIYs of Christmas! Today kicks off a series of 12 Christmas DIYs which I will be sharing with you throughout the first 12 days of December.
Christmas can be a seriously expensive time of year and so I will be sharing DIY Christmas gift ideas as well as some thrifty decor ideas to help you to stay on budget this December.
On the 1st DIY of Christmas Thrifty Londoner sent to me…
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The phenomenon that is Black Friday seems to have spread throughout the UK in recent years, with retailers even offering huge discounts in the week prior to the big day itself. With the ever rising popularity of online shopping, Cyber Monday has now also become a huge discount shopping day- so if you feel that you didn’t get all the gifts you wanted to buy for Christmas on Friday- today is your best chance to grab some bargains before Christmas Day.
Cyber Monday is traditionally (and I use that term loosely) when you can get the very best discount deals online, despite the fact that many online businesses also now promote deals on Black Friday. This means that today, it’s time to get out your list, and head online to see what savings you could make. To get the absolute best savings, it’s also a great idea to log onto a cashback website like Topcashback or Quidco so that you can get some money back on what you buy.
The trouble with hunting around online, is that you might not be able to find the best deals with a simple google search. If you use a site like LatestDealsUK, you are able to view the most exclusive flash sales and discounts for a huge number of brands and retailers, all on one page. For example, if you were looking for some discounted accessories as a gift for your other half, you could search by product category and easily find what you are looking for. There is even a free Black Friday app that you can use to find the best deals with the latest offers from retail giants such as Amazon and Argos.
LatestDealsUK also shows you the best deals throughout the year, so that you can see the biggest savings to be made at any time- not just on the Black Friday weekend. Not only are flash discount events listed throughout the year, but you can also find voucher codes and sales listings on the site too. It’s a must to check the site before buying gifts online to ensure that you save as much money as possible on your purchases.
Have you been able to secure some bargains already this weekend? I personally left a few things on my Christmas shopping list that I knew I would be able to get with a discount on Black Friday, and I’m so glad I waited as I was able to get 20% off a couple of gifts. I would love to hear about any deals that you have found to ensure that this Christmas is a thrifty one!
This is a collaborative post.
Today I’m sharing the seventh instalment of my bi-weekly series, ‘Savings Stories,’ where I speak to millennial Londoners about their personal finances. Our personal finances are often kept under wraps, with conversations about money usually kept to a minimum- making it hard to know whether anyone else is going through the same things as you. ‘Savings Stories’ aims to start a conversation about our finances, and lift the lid on millennial spending and saving- is the reason we can’t afford property in London really about overspending on avocados and lattes? I think not.
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For a long time, as soon as I saw or heard the word ‘pension,’ I immediately switched off. Workplace pension contributions equalled something boring that I didn’t need to know about until much later in life. For the last two years I have been pootling along and contributing the minimum amount required (3% of my salary at the time of writing), and up until recently I hadn’t really given my pension a second thought. However, since learning more about personal finance, it became all too clear that a 3% pension contribution just wasn’t going to cut it. You hear, read, and see varying opinions about how much you should be contributing to your pension, and at what age- but what is the right answer?
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Moving into a flatshare or houseshare is one of the best ways to save some money whilst living in London. Yes, you’ll probably still pay £600+ for a double bedroom, but it will be cheaper than a one bedroom flat which will cost hundreds of pounds more each month. If you are a couple, you can rent a room in a houseshare relatively cheaply- my boyfriend and I paid £425 each (plus bills) for a large double bedroom with an ensuite in zone 2, West London and lived with two other flat mates before moving to our own one bedroom flat in June. This is an absolute steal in London terms and meant that I was able to save a pretty penny over the course of the year that we lived there. You can check out my guide to finding the perfect flatshare in London for more information.
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One thing is inevitable when budgeting- you will come up short of your targets at one time or another. When you first begin to budget, this is something that you will definitely encounter as you start to work out how much you actually spend on gin, as opposed to what you think you spend on gin. You can quickly be left thinking, why can’t I do this? Why can’t I stick to a budget? That’s the thing, budgeting is tough. There will be tears. There will be days when you wonder whether it’s even worth it. But it is, oh it is worth it. When the total money owed goes down, or the total money saved goes up, those figures will give you way more satisfaction than any purchase ever could. And the good thing is, if you have a bad month of budgeting, you can feel safe in the knowledge that you DO have what it takes to fix things the following month.
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House sharing with strangers can be hard to get used to at the best of times, especially if you’ve previously been used to having your own space. This is tricky because in London, and many other cities in the UK, living in your own place is out of reach for a lot of people. The challenge of living with others is escalated if you are living in a house share in London as a couple. Many house shares in London don’t have a lounge, so sometimes this means that you and your partner are living in one room for the majority of your time spent at home. Sharing a very small space with another person definitely comes with its difficulties, but that said, I personally believe that a house share in London is one of the best ways to maintain a healthy budget, and even save some money whilst living in the capital. Sometimes, the monetary benefits of house sharing as a couple outweigh the negatives, if you want to find out my survival tips to get through a house share in London, read on…
Having regular date nights can be tough if you are trying to save money, but even going for a drink at your local is a change of scenery from being perched on the edge of your bed attempting to eat tacos without making a mess. If you’re living in London, check out my Free Things to do in London guides for some date night inspiration.
When we were house sharing, we spent so much time cooped up in our bedroom, so it was nice to use of the small shared space we did have to do some cooking. Cooking together can be fun, and it means that you feel like you are both making a contribution to household chores. It’s a great way to catch up on each other’s days, and it means that you are actually spending some time in another area of the house.
Again, mini-breaks are not always possible if you are trying to save money, but I am a firm believer in taking regular weekend breaks away from London to get away from the hustle and bustle. One way to do mini breaks on a lower budget is taking the time to visit family and friends who are based elsewhere in the country. It’s so important to take time away so that you can come back to the city refreshed and well rested.
Whether the reason you are in a house share in London is out of necessity, or you are doing it to save money, make sure you sit down together and discuss what your financial goals are. If you are saving for a deposit on a house, for holidays, or simply to have more disposable income, sharing your financial goals will make the hard days worth it when you see your savings add up.
House sharing as a couple means that personal breathing space can be hard to come by, so it’s important to do what you can to make this happen. Whether it’s going to the gym after work, going to a friend’s house for dinner, or simply going for a bath while they watch their favourite TV programme (which you hate and refuse to watch), most of us need a little “me” time.
You might also enjoy reading how to find your perfect flatshare in London, how to make a flatshare feel more like home and London on a budget: how to tackle FOMO.
FOMO. You may have seen this little acronym thrown around with abundance over the last couple of years- it stands for Fear Of Missing Out. Essentially, the worry you have when you think (or perceive on social media) that others are having a fun and exciting experience when you are not there. The fear that you are missing out on something great when you are absent from an event or party. This phenomenon is very common when you are sticking to a serious budget and have had to say no to a social gathering in order to save your bank balance. It can make you feel lonely and isolated when you turn down invitations because of money, but you’ll be pleased to know that there are ways to overcome this. No more sad Saturday nights with Netflix watching your friend’s insta-stories and feeling like you’re missing out on your 20’s- you’re not!
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Sometimes when you dare to check your bank account right before payday hits, and you see a sad looking £31.57 sat in there to last for the week, you can get to wondering- how can I end this cycle?! The one change I made around two years ago that enabled me to start saving 27% of my salary (whilst living in London!) every month, was to start sticking to a budget plan.
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If you’re about to move to London, or even if you already live here, chances are you will at some point be looking to move into a flatshare or houseshare. Sharing a home with others is definitely the most affordable way to live in the capital, and if you are new to the city, a flatshare in London is a great way of meeting some new friends. If you are looking to live somewhere with a partner, a flatshare can be a great way to save some cash- even if you commit just one year to housesharing before getting your own one bedroom rental. Here I have put together a list of websites which I have found most useful when searching for the perfect flatshare in London.
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