{"id":880,"date":"2024-09-17T14:32:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/moneymentors\/?p=880"},"modified":"2024-09-17T14:32:44","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T13:32:44","slug":"a-typical-week-of-spending-in-london-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kcl.ac.uk\/moneymentors\/2024\/09\/17\/a-typical-week-of-spending-in-london-2\/","title":{"rendered":"A Typical Week of Spending in London"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

(Photo by\u00a0Jaanus Jagom\u00e4gi<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

London has to be one of the most vibrant, lively and exciting cities to live in as a student. But it\u2019s also the <\/em>most expensive city in the UK\u2026 so, just how expensive is it really? In this blog, I\u2019m going to explore how expensive living in London is by taking you through a typical week of my spending as a fourth-year KCL medical student. I\u2019d like to preface that everyone\u2019s individual spending will be different depending on a number of factors and your own spending will fluctuate week to week. However, this blog post should give you an idea of what costs to prepare for and how you can think about cutting down on certain expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accommodation: <\/strong>\u00a3225p\/w <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Utility bills: <\/strong>\u00a315p\/w <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By far, my greatest cost (and this will be the same for almost every student) was rent. The price shown above is how much I paid for a room in a three-bedroom flat in central London. However, many students will choose to live in student accommodation, especially in their first year, as this is a good way to get to know other students at King\u2019s and make friends. Another benefit is that the weekly rent price includes all utility bills. Make sure to look into the KAAS<\/a> scheme (King\u2019s Affordable Accommodation Scheme), which offers accommodation at a reduced rate for students from lower income backgrounds if they meet certain eligibility criteria. The weekly rent for King\u2019s accommodation (not including KAAS rates) ranges from \u00a3178 to \u00a3370.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grocery shop <\/strong>\u00a330   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I started to do (and would recommend to other students) was to pick a specific day of the week for grocery shopping, and to create a shopping list before stepping out. This helped to prevent overspending as I was less tempted to pick up random things I wouldn\u2019t need throughout the week or when shopping. I would usually visit Lidl with one of my flatmates at the weekend and spend around \u00a330. On the weeks where I\u2019d just returned from visiting home, I would spend much less on grocery shopping as I\u2019d bring home-cooked food with me. To reduce the cost of your weekly shop, consider shopping at larger supermarket branches as items tend to be a bit cheaper here and also getting a Sainsbury’s Nectar card<\/a> and\/or Tesco Clubcard<\/a>. It may also be worth looking into signing up to food hubs such as The Borough Food Cooperative<\/a>. For each visit, members can pick up to 16 items for \u00a34.50, which works out to be a really good deal! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Transport: <\/strong>\u00a36 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I live just a 10 minute walk from Guy\u2019s Campus, where all my inductions were based this week. I used the tube once this week to go shopping in Covent Garden. Note that I normally spend more on public transport (\u00a315 to \u00a320 each week) as my hospital placements are a bit further away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social\/eating out: <\/strong>\u00a315 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I try to bring a packed lunch with me most days but ended up getting one meal deal this week. I also went to Covent Garden with a friend and had dinner there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tea and coffee: <\/strong>\u00a35<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not much of a tea or coffee drinker, but I got a bubble tea this week for \u00a35. If you do enjoy these drinks, aside from making them yourself to save money, I\u2019d recommend downloading the King\u2019s Move<\/a> app. This app tracks the number of steps you take each day and you automatically earn points as a result. Once you earn a specific number of points, you are entitled to a reward, such as a free hot drink from any King\u2019s Food venue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Monthly subscriptions\/bills: <\/strong>\u00a314<\/p>\n\n\n\n