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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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 working towards your money goals- 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- you will eventually reach your money goals with consistency and determination.
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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 learning how to create a budget plan.
Everyone will have a different budget plan to suit their needs, and it’s important to engage with your numbers, decide what budgeting method you will use and your financial goals that you are working towards.
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As everyone knows, London living costs can be eye wateringly expensive, and sometimes you can be left wondering how you are going to be able to enjoy the city and everything that it offers, without sliding down the slippery slope of credit card overuse.
After all, what’s the point in living in one of the most interesting (and expensive) cities in the world, if the cost of living means that you can’t go out and enjoy it?
Over the last couple of years, I have found myself in this situation and have luckily found a few ways to take the edge off, and save money where I can. If you’re finding yourself struggling a little this month, have a look at these tips to save money in London.
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If you’re a millennial Londoner yourself, you’ve probably got your sights set on some new house plants- from hanging plants to succulents, we just can’t seem to get enough of them. According to The Independent, our obsession stems from not being able to afford kids or not being able to keep pets in our rented accommodation.
Yes, my friends do name their plants (Carmen Electra the cactus, RIP) but I don’t think on any level we are trying to substitute the joy of raising children with some leafy friends. Personally, I think Instagram and Pinterest have set the trend, and we just want to create some calm sanctuaries of green in our bland rental properties.
For me, I think my love of plants must be hereditary, my dad told me a few weeks ago that he actually owned a cheese plant back in the 80s, so who’s the trend setter now?! Here I have put together a breakdown of how to get cheap houseplants, because let’s face it- we are all looking for ways to live in London for less.
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