London on the Cheap.

Housing and holiday accommodation in London is pretty high up on the global price chart, nobody is arguing with that. So how on earth are we managing to live short-term ( or, enjoy a very long vacation, what they call slow travel ) in a beautiful and desirable area of outer London, on the tube line, on just one fairly-modest salary?  A look at cheap slow travel in London and actual costs in one of the most expensive cities for nomads

Slow Travel in London on the Cheap

I often say that we don’t travel like locals, well this time we are, like very cash-smart locals.

When we applied to rent our flat for 6 months the owner didn’t believe we could afford it, our income looked too low to him. He had to have a meeting with James to confirm that we were, shall we say, different, to normal renters. In his world our income would only cover day-to-day expenses, we’d need extra cash to pay the rent.

Anyway, he was wrong, we were right, we’re living well and having lots of fun on what looks like an impossible rent:income ratio.

So how are we doing it, how are we doing what looks impossible to so many families, living on one salary, enjoying our lives tremendously, seeing the sights and still saving?

We left London in 2007 because we thought it wasn’t possible to live here and for me to be a full-time mum. We fled to the other side of the world to facilitate that. But we’ve changed, we’re not so needy, we can do this thing now and spend extended amounts of time in our favourite city, on one salary, while saving for our next round of travel.

You can read the original posts we wrote about saving to afford travel and how we lived frugally for over a year to get this ball rolling ( I threw quite a few tantrums back then, I was normal). Living simply, frugally if you like, isn’t such a big deal now, it’s become our normal, our default setting, we’re cool with it.

Living in, and Enjoying, London on a Tight Budget

1.Finding the Right Flat

We needed a base that we were happy to spend time in and that gave us easy access to shops, facilities and outside space, on foot.

We were prepared to pay slightly more to get all our boxes ticked, we settled on £1350 per month. Plus bills. That’s a lot, far more than paying a mortgage. It’s also more ( when you include bills) than we were paying to stay in a cheap hotel in London. We think it works out better value than taking a holiday let, where bills and internet are included in the price, we did check out a few, but when we saw this flat we fell in love.

For comparison the cheapest Airbnb we ever had in London worked out a touch more expensive, in a nearby street, but there are AirBnb bargains to be had in London .

For that  price we have a furnished 1 bedroom flat, all new and fresh, lovely kichen and bathroom, and windows that I throw open each morning with a song in my heart as I look out across the trees to the park. Being in this flat makes me happy.

If you’re interested we have full posts on living in Twickenham and Richmond London. They’re our favourite places to hang out.

It has 1 bedroom. We have a double bed in there and we bought a double futon for the living/dining room. That’s plenty enough space for us and the location is fantastic.

2. Not buying stuff

There’s no point in buying stuff, we can’t pack it up and take it with us, but we’ve needed a few basic things to set up base here.

Bedding: We bought sheet sleeping bags, we can take them with us and use them on our travels. We had a down bag already, we’ve added a fleece blanket, we’re warm enough so far but we’ll need more as winter approaches. The futon was £100, sheets, pillows and pillow cases set us back £30.

Kitchen: We bought 4 bowls, 2 mugs, 3 pans, 4 glasses and cutlery £48 exactly and it’s all we’ve needed. We already had a sharp cooking knife and a bottle/can opener on our Swiss army knives. I had some plastic food boxes, the lid of one has become my chopping board.

Other: I bought a small TV for £100, my treat to us, I was fed up of huddling around the laptop to watch anything. We’ve bought books and toys for the kids, some second hand, but mostly we use the library. We’ve had to replace and upgrade some clothes, our things are wearing out and the children are growing. Forest school necessitated wellington boots for the boys, I found some cool ones for £3 each. Forest School is expensive but the kids get a lot out of it so I’m happy to pay. We also buy a few school-type work books, they are good value here, under £5 usually and there is a great selection. There are more and they are cheaper than Australia, less variety than Sri Lanka, they had incredible books there, in English.

3. Saving on transport

We walk! We do not need a car here in any way at all. London’s public transport is fabulous and most things we need are within easy walking distance. My crazy Iron Man husband runs home from work, 14Km, most days to save us a couple of dollars on train fare. He worked out that taking the bus part way into work was cheaper than taking the tube the whole way, so he does that . He watches the charges on our Oyster cards like a hawk, if he can find an error of anything that needs refunding, he always chases it up. He thinks saving a pound here and there covers his new running shoes.

Kids travel free on the tube and buses after 9.30am, so that’s when we go. I limit our big days out in London to one or two days a week to get the most bang for our travel buck.

Big supermarket shops are impossible without a car, so mostly we shop daily. If I felt the need, I could get a big shop delivered to my home for just £1. I did it once to stock up on washing powder, bleach, toilet roll, all the big heavy stuff. I haven’t felt the need since.

A full day of transport in London for the kids and I , is just over 7 pounds, it’s capped.

4. Saving on Entertainment

We own a TV, but no TV license. This is a perfectly legal option so long as you don’t watch any TV at the time it is broadcast. We don’t, we use BBC i view, Netflix (for free on a rolling 1 month trial),You Tube, anything we find. A satellite TV subscription is something we’ve never wanted or needed.

We rarely eat or drink out in London. I hate cooking with a passion but eating out in this city is a fast road to financial ruin. I’m saving it for Asia!

We don’t go to the cinema, we’re not into cinema. Our entertainment is mostly going places with the kids, but we have been to our local pub to enjoy the odd pint in the beer garden. It’s a British summer treat that’s well worth paying for now and then.

All the big ticket attractions we visit, we have press passes for, that is a big benefit of being a serious blogger. We could not afford them otherwise.

5. The Things We Go Without

We go without large wardrobes of fancy clothes, we’re over dressing to impress.

We normally cut our own hair, but in London we feel like scruffs, so all of us have had professional hair cuts recently (£30 for me, which is very cheap, £8 for the kids)

We go without non-functional shoes. I wear my hiking shoes for everything, they’re on their last legs but they should see me through to next year.

We go without coffees out, most days, going out for coffee is an expensive habit I enjoy.

6.The Things We Don’t Go Without

Fun. It’s easy to have fun with no money. We cross the road to the park, walk, play, kick a ball around, it’s easy to find fun anywhere with kids.

Days Out. We go into London 1 or 2 days a week. This need not cost more that the £7.50 for unlimited tube and bus transport ( from zone 5) but we always buy coffee and food, I wouldn’t enjoy our day so much if we didn’t.

Wine, yes, I still love my wine, it’s actually really cheap here, cheaper than Australia, and I’ve found some good ones for around £5 in supermarkets. Compare that to one cider and 2 juices in the pub at over £10, and you’ll see why we don’t go out much.

7. Finding Bargains

Be it clothes, household goods or food, there are always bargains to be had in and around London. We found a light fleece for my son for 99p in a fairly up-market shop, end of range. I found good quality, new jeans for £10 in a charity shop. I always look in the charity shops, the richer the area, the better quality the finds.

Food shopping is best done in bulk online to get 3 for 2 offers, or at the end of the day in the endless supermarkets, small and large, that you will find on every street. There is a rapid turnover of food, strict regulations and a demand for good quality, so anything coming up to its sell by date is heavily discounted.

Check for vouchers before I commit to paying for anything I always Google “Voucher codes for.. ” You’d be amazed what you can find.

8. Free Things

You could spend months in London and only do free things to keep you busy. You can wander and enjoy the streets, parks and rivers or visit the sensational museums.We also have loads of free festivals and entertainment. London is a freeloaders paradise!

We have a post on Kid Friendly Free Days Out in London

Have a look at sites like London for Free for more ideas.

9. Lower Cost Places to Eat

Supermarkets come first. Eating out in London is always going to hit you in the pocket.

Tube stations have little food stalls, you can grab a samosa or some sort of savoury snack to keep you going.

For large meals out there are plenty of Chinese and Indian eateries that offer buffets for £5/head, less for kids.

We tend to use Pret a Manger and its sister chain Itsu when we’re in town, their food is good, affordable and not full of adatives. They have good coffee and internet too.

Try grazing the farmers markets, you could easily fill yourself up on free tasters, but it’s a bit cheeky, I always end up buying something. Borough Market, beneath London Bridge is particularly good. The food is great, but it is pricey, you get what you pay for.

Costs of Living in London?

We pay £17 /month for unlimited wireless internet at home. Free internet is widely available elsewhere.

Council tax is  £167 per month, obviously this varies, we live in an expensive area in a small flat. Council tax can be as low as £400/year and goes up to over £3,000 per year for an expensive property in an up market area

We pay £30 per month for water.

We pay £50 for gas and electricity, our hot water and heating are gas, we haven’t used the heating at all yet.

We can get by easily on £50/week for food at home, that’s including a few treats like wine and biscuits. But for £100/week I wouldn’t have to make lentil curry so often!

Dental check up £30 ( including descale and X ray) for me. Free for the kids.

All medical care free.

Most Important of All Be Happy!

I say this all the time, spend what you need to spend to make you happy. Life is supposed to be fun, make sure it is. We’re having a ball, it’s been such a great opportunity for us, to live here again. I could live in this little flat forever, it’s only other people who would think us weird and, to be honest, I don’t care what they think! If you have any questions let me know in the comments section, I’m rushing this post out because we’re going out for coffee, our treat. Thanks for being here!

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