HowĀ I survive as an international student in England.
Being an international student in a country youāre not familiar with can be pretty overwhelming for most. How do I know? Well, I am an international student myself here in England. Hi! I am Sophie. Currently living in Lincoln, England. Today Iāll be sharing tips on how I survive (money wise) here in England xx
1. Buy less upon arrival.
Okay, Iāve been here for 3 years and I did the same mistake for 2 years straight. That is buying TOO many things all at once!Ā
Imagine youāre alone and you have a really long list of items you want to get from the store. May it be a vacuum cleaner, ironing board, kettle, blanket, duvet etc. Okay and imagine you buying all the things you have in your list all at once. Yeah, I did all of that. The moment I stepped out of the store carrying the items I got, I regret it instantly. You do NOT want to repeat the same mistakes I did.
Instead what you should do is categorise the items that are essentials first. The first day you arrive to another country is going to be super tiring for you. Now, you have to do the list before you arrive to your destination because you wouldnāt have the time to later. For example:
-Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel
-Vacuum cleaner (if not provided)
-Kettle (if not provided)
This will definitely lessen the burden of you carrying these things all at once and having a breakdown because youāre tired, sleepy and your body aches after a really long flight. However, if you do find yourself buying all these things in one go without realising, itās okay. Just tell the manager of the store that youāll be taking all the other things tomorrow and youāll just bring the essential ones home first :)
2. Remind yourself that buying clothes from Primark wonāt actually save up your money. Really...
Now, you here people tell you that Primark is cheap.Ā
āOMG youāre going to England? You have to shop in Primarkā
āThe things there are so cheapā
āYouāre so lucky. England has primarkā
Yes, the things here are cheap but the cheaper it is the more tempted we are to shop even more. We tend to get overboard with buying things sometimes. Clothes, shoes, snacks, food. If youāre a student with a decent amount of allowance every month, Iād suggest for you to control yourself even with shopping in Primark.Ā
Take it from me. I bought a lot of things from Primark during my first year and had to survive with only Ā£10 in my Wallet. I wasted so much money buying clothes from Primark. Yes it is cheap but if you donāt control yourself? Itās deadly, hun.Ā
However, if you got tons of bucks in your wallet... I guess itās all up to you ;)
3.Poundland is going to be your bestie!
MOST of the things in there are Ā£1.
If you want some snacks like crisps, chocolates, bread, cookies or all those munchies youād want to have in your room... Poundland has it all. I always get my snacks from Poundland because itās cheap.
I also got some of my stationaries from Poundland as well. Such as notebooks, pens, erasers, stationary holder.Ā
Although, you gotta be careful with your spendings here too. Certain items in Poundland costs slightly a bit more compared to letās say... Tesco.
A chocolate chip cookie in Poundland would cost Ā£1 and only 84 pence in Tesco.
You gotta keep track of the price and survey a few other places around town to see which saves up more money for you. As much as it is my bestfriend, I have to admit that other places has a cheaper price tag to it. Which comes down to the next tip.
4. Okay this isnāt much of a tip but hereās a list of shops you can consider on buying essential goods from.Ā
But my personal favourite is Wilko, Poundland and Tesco :)
(By essential goods I do mean kitchen appliances, cleaning appliances, snacks, groceries etc.)
5. The temptation over buying food through delivery. Well, when the laziness strikes in.
I used to do this ALL the time during my first year and it is also one of the reasons why I would ended up with just a few pound in my wallet. I know, we all get lazy and tired especially during winter because itās cold and it gets dark easily which makes us pretty sleepy and unenergised.Ā
But if you ever come across having the want of ordering food through delivery? Think twice. If you got extra cash, go ahead. But if youāre trying to save up? Think again. The cost of the food may be cheap but remember there are extra charges.Some shops would charge you if your order doesnāt reach the minimum cost of one order also the delivery fee might be expensive at the same time. Theyāre cheeky fellas okay.Ā
A burger could cost you Ā£3 but the minimum order cost is Ā£9 and the delivery fee is about Ā£4. I once spent Ā£20 on a set of cheeseburgers and onion rings. I swear :ā)
6. My last tip is aboutĀ āsavingsā
Okay, gotta give credits to my ex boyfriend for teaching me this.
Take out 30% of your allowance and that is your savings.
I get around Ā£200 from my dad every month. Therefore my savings is Ā£60 Thus, I only have Ā£140 left to spend of the items Iāll be buying.Ā
This works for me for quite awhile because I SUCK at savings. However if you donāt want to limit yourself too much, maybe you can save up Ā£10 to Ā£20 per month. Or you start with Ā£5 and every month you add up another Ā£5 to your savings. For example:
So, these are the tips I apply to myself for me to survive happily in England. I suck at giving tips but these are pretty useful to me so thought Iād share. Of course thereās more but I can only think of these for today haha. Iāll be sure to add more if I remember any. Goodnight :)
