Black Holes in my Wallet : Money and City Life

One of the most difficult aspects of city living, once you’ve got past the businesspeople who push you out of their way in stations, the loud noises all night and the crazy crowds on the tube, is trying to find enough change in your wallet to keep yourself in sandwiches and coffee. Having lived in various big cities in my time (London, Brighton and Glasgow being just three examples), I thought it might be handy to write a quick guide to saving money whilst living in the centre of a city.

Mixing and Matching

You’ll find when you move to a city that a lot of people will give you different (and often totally contradictory) advice. Who do you listen to? Everyone. Take bits and pieces from all those who are willing to offer you tips, and work out for yourself what the best way through life might be.

A great example of this is where to buy your food. You’ll find loads of people who tell you to buy local; that it works out cheaper and is far more ethical anyway. You’ll also find proponents of the basics-range diet, who rely on ten pence noodles and very cheap tinned vegetables.

However, often the best way to navigate the aisles is to chop and choose. Where I live at the moment, for example, there is a very cheap butcher just around the corner, a very cheap farm shop in the marketplace, and a very cheap vegetable shop just down the road. But if I want to buy cans, coffee or dried foods, I head to the big supermarket up the hill and stock up on their own-brand stuff when I’m short of cash. This means I can make nice food for myself and Husband (and any guests who arrive on our doorstep) without spending a fortune.

Make Your Own

Lots of people seem amazed at the amount of stuff Husband and I create for ourselves. Bread, pizza bases, pies… many things that you can buy for three times the price. Yes, it takes a bit of effort, but a bag of bread flour might set you back 75p and make three loaves, whereas three loaves from the shelf – even cheap ones – will probably cost you at least three times that amount.

If you’re really savvy, and if your city borders some countryside, you can also find out what kinds of things there are to eat in the countryside. Elderflowers, blackberries, apples, nettles and dandelions abound in England, and are so much cheaper when you pick your own. If you’re by the sea, go fishing for mussels. Use your imagination.

Walking

Yes, I know, it’s a pain if you have to walk to work. Or so they tell me. Actually, since I’ve started having to get the train (my office is about sixty miles from my house), I really miss the morning walk. If you’re going just up the road, walk it instead of taking the bus, car or metro. If you have somewhere to go which is in the city but quite far from where you live, why not make it a day trip? Yes, really. Walking to that place you have to go that’s five miles away might take you half a day, but if you present it to yourself as something interesting rather than a chore, you might be surprised at how enjoyable it is. You can still get the bus back, but you only have to pay a single fare, and you arrive home with enough calories burned to be able to allow yourself some chocolate. Happiness all round.

Going Out

Admittedly not something I do very often, being more of a sitting-down-drinking-tea person, going out still doesn’t need to be so expensive. Find some nice little local places – probably independent ones rather than big chains – and frequent them. Take your friends there. Get to know the people who run them and the people who work behind the bar or counter. You’ll find that businesses are often willing to give you discounts (or even freebies!) if they know you’ll be driving more business their way, and if they like you. In a world of large corporations and Facebook rather than face-to-face, it’s easy to forget that companies are run by human beings. The face you see at the desk isn’t made of cardboard. Talk to people, get to know them, and you might be surprised how much pain it saves you.

Vouchers and Coupons and Blogs, Oh My!

Of course, there are those things which are just very expensive. Going to the Sea Life Centre isn’t going to be cheap. Taking the kids there is going to be a nightmare. Sometimes you just really need some artichoke hearts, and you can only find them in the expensive aisle. Oh no! What to do? Vouchers, coupons and certain blogs will probably be able to help you out.

You know that local paper that drops through the door and moulders as more and more people use it as a replacement doormat? Pick it up. Flick through it. Find the pages with coupons on them, and cut them out. Even if you’re not particularly interested in the one you’ve found, someone else might be, and perhaps you could swap yours for theirs, like you did at school with pogs or matchbox pictures or Pokemon cards.

Supermarkets will also do coupons, loyalty cards and special offers, which are worth looking out for. If you have a lot of small, independent shops nearby, there might also be a loyalty scheme going on that you don’t know about. Some places club together and give you points for shopping locally for food, which you can then use to buy pretty shoes from that lovely little shop off the high street.

And of course, don’t forget the blogosphere. Search for your city in a blog directory, and you’ll probably find at least one person who spends their life digging out special offers and telling people about them. Bookmark it, check it often, and use the things you find.

So, how about you? Any tips for saving money in the city?

This is a guest post from Scarlett on some ideas as to how to save money whilst in a big city.

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