Three Tips to Save Money in London

1) Get a railcard

To help with travel costs, get a 16-25 railcard to save a 1/3 on train fares (which is great for visiting family and friends across the country). More interestingly though, the card can be tied to your oyster card and will save you a 1/3 on tube fares too. Prices for the railcards vary but they’re frequently on offer online for under £30 online and they last for 12 months. Once you have your railcard, take it to a ticket office at a major tube station and ask a member of staff to tie the card to your oyster card (Stratford station is happy to do this for you and is just down the road from Queen Mary). You have to fill in a form which you can do online or in person, but it doesn’t take long. If you’re a mature student, don’t worry. Students over 25 and in full time education can still get the railcard for the same price and length of time as younger students.

2) Shop at large supermarkets

It’s easy to overspend anywhere if you’re not careful with your cash, but particularly in London it can be tricky to find larger supermarket chains within easy access of where you’re living. Stores on Mile End road such as Sainsbury’s Local and Budgens are great for grabbing some late night snacks or topping up your supply of bread and milk, but a weekly shop in local convenience stores will seriously set you back financially if done regularly. If you’re living on campus or in an area where there isn’t a big supermarket nearby, my advice would be to order online. This is a great option for cutting out the miserable agony of dragging endless heavy bags of tins, cans, and bottles across London and risking the carrier bag splitting and all your purchases exploding over a poor unsuspecting passer-by. If you order online as a group, be sure to keep a note of how much everyone owes to save hassle later. Be sensible with what you buy – try to avoid ordering vast quantities of your favourite junk food and think practically about which meals you can make with what you’re buying.

3) Think about what you’re eating and be prepared

Once you get busy at university, it’s easier to get lazy and order a takeaway or just scoff a family size bag of crisps than it is to prepare a proper meal. If you’re unsure about cooking, the solution is to learn how to cook basic foodstuffs (rice, pasta, noodles) and add vegetables and meat to make sure it’s balanced enough to give you energy and keep you full. Eggs are great for keeping you full and won’t break the bank – learn to make tasty omelettes and you’re sorted. Buy a loaf of bread and make sandwiches rather than buying them elsewhere.  Take a bottle of water/juice/squash with you when you go out instead of spending £1.50 on a bottle of Diet Coke in a corner shop. These little things will make all the difference and will mean you don’t have to fork out for overpriced items when you’re on the go.

Five Ways to Achieve Stress-Free Travel around London

Let’s be honest – travelling around London can be stressful and exhausting at the best of times. The last thing you need when you’re trying to grapple with the labyrinthine London transport system is to be on a tight time limit. I’m usually late for everything and am no stranger to the abject horror of tearing through King’s Cross with approximately 8 minutes to get from the Northern Line to the National Rail platform, usually via the ticket collection machines and ideally with a quick stop for a cigarette en route. Even during my final year of studying in London I still forget how long it takes to get to certain destinations and misjudge just how big London is (I’m from a small town). So, if you’re perennially late for everything, terrified by the sheer size of London or just struggle to get around the city without experiencing homicidal feelings, follow the tips below.

  1. Avoid travelling during rush hour

Unless you enjoy inhaling the pungent aroma of 50 armpits during your journey and have a penchant for being pushed, sworn at and prodded and shoved, avoiding the excruciating hell of rush hour is a good idea. This is not just because you’ll save some money travelling off-peak, but also because your chances of grabbing a seat and some personal space are greatly increased. Unfortunately university schedules, work shifts and other commitments often leave us with no choice but to travel during the busiest times of day. So, if you do have the choice, take full advantage of it, especially if you have to travel long distances and are prone to claustrophobia.

  1. Pay attention to TFL updates

TFL (Transport for London) provides travel updates on Twitter (@TfLTravelAlerts) and on their website, and it’s also worth signing up to receive email updates. Don’t rely on the live updates in stations – it’s important to know in advance which routes you may or may not be able to use. The engineering works in London can be an absolute nightmare. They have the potential to render certain parts of the city almost totally inaccessible, which is why signing up to receive email updates letting you know which works are taking place over the weekend is a very sensible idea. Otherwise, you risk finding yourself marooned at an unfamiliar station, embroiled in a 200 strong crowd brawl trying to fight your way onto the next rail replacement bus.

  1. Plan ahead and know where you’re going

At some point when you’re heading somewhere new and ask for directions in advance you will hear the immortal words: ‘It’s just a couple of minutes away from the tube station’. Always check first. Firstly, because London is huge, and secondly because Google Maps has a tendency to behave like a petulant child if your mobile internet connection isn’t up to scratch. I naively assumed that regardless of where you are in London, you’re only ever ‘a couple of minutes away’ from the nearest tube stop. Not true. When someone who knows their area well tells you that you ‘just’ need to take the third left and then the second right and go through the underpass and then past the park and then it’s simply the third turning opposite the pub on the right just near the station, you need to worry. Write down directions, take note of which tube stations/bus stops you need and leave half an hour spare for getting lost. You’ll be fine.

  1. Pay attention to your surroundings

Disobeying travel etiquette in London is a bad idea and usually makes your journey (and everyone else’s) a lot more stressful. Standing on the right hand side of the escalator will put you in good stead. However, running up the left hand side trying to keep up when you know you can only make it halfway and then having to stop to catch your breath (especially when there’s no space for you to move over to the right) will drive people (okay, me) absolutely insane. Holding people up by dawdling in busy areas will get your toes run over by a large suitcase careering past (probably mine) and stopping abruptly at the bottom of a staircase in a crowded station to check your Twitter feed is just plain silly. Planning a chilled out journey is the best way forward, but London can be a tough place so being aware that other people are stressed and in a rush is advisable. This way, you’ll get to your destination free of hassle and won’t spend your evening out crying in the toilets over that guy who sighed loudly and called you a ‘bloody tourist’ when all you were trying to do was take a picture of your feet in front of the ‘Mind the Gap’ sign at the height of rush hour.

  1. Scrap the whole thing and just walk everywhere

A little controversial I know, but walking around London is easily the least stressful way to see the city. For a start, it’s free and as a student you should seize every opportunity you can to get out of spending money on silly things like Oyster cards. The blasted things run out of credit whenever they feel like it, get lost all the time and generally make your life a living hell (I’m kidding, sort of – pretty much everyone in London has one). Walking across the city means you control where you go (you’ll need a map) and how long it takes to get there (a great way to monitor how much slower you’re walking since all that fried chicken and cider became your main diet). A long purposeful walk to your destination will burn some calories, cut out travel costs and help you to learn your way around. Additionally, travelling on foot will give you some fresh (ish) air and the best part is that you’ll discover places you’d never have found otherwise.