Hurrah! London is no longer among the 30 most expensive cities in the world. Unbelievably, Luanda in Angola, Abuja in Nigeria and Berlin are now more costly than the British capital - well, at least according to consultancy firm ECA International, as bus fares and the price of a loaf of bread seem to point to the contrary (seriously, sliced bread has almost doubled in the last 12 months!)
Regardless of surveys there is no doubt that for the average non-millionaire the capital is expensive, hence the increase in over 30s still living at home due to exorbitant rents and mortgages. Thankfully if you’re short of cash you don’t have to spend every evening indoors moping in front of the telly, just be a bit of a cheapskate and you’ll still be able to enjoy what the city has to offer.
Firstly, there are three important rules you should observe once you have made the decision to become a cheapskate so as to avoid alienating your friends.
1. Don’t constantly ask everyone the price of what they are wearing/drinking, or how much their next holiday is costing them.
2. Don’t allude to money and the price of things all the time. They get it, you’re skint.
3. Don’t be stingy. If you can’t afford to buy people a round, that’s fine, but don’t down six Long Island Ice Teas and then do a mysterious disappearing act when it’s your turn to pay.
More than beans on toast
Every so often one of London’s esteemed publications announces London’s top 20 cheap eateries or such like, most of which consist of lunchtime offers or cafes serving baguettes and cakes (and thank your lucky stars you don’t live in Oslo, where the average price of lunch is £40 a head). Eating dinner out is expensive, and £100 for a three course meal for two is pretty standard unless you’re happy to eat at Pizza Express. There’s nothing wrong with scouring through Open Table’s website for offers, cutting out the occasional coupon in the Evening Standard or applying for competitions for free meals. If you don’t have time for this then restaurants that consistently deliver good value in the evening include Chowki, the plethora of Indian restaurants situated around Drummond Street and more recently pizzeria Franco Manca, the Korean Bi Bim Bap, the Lebanese Yalla Yalla and Comptoir Libanais, and the ubiquitous Thai chain Busaba, which continues to draw in the crowds with its low-priced stir fries. What do they all have in common? With the exception of Franco Manca they all offer cuisine from the Asian continent. British gastronomy is enjoying a renaissance that has elevated its status to gourmet food du jour, with prices to match, Spanish tapas add up to expensive bills and French food has never been cheap outside of France.
A night out on the tiles is always expensive unless you take advantage of early happy hours with the inevitable consequence of getting sloshed before 7 pm. Otherwise there are Samuel Smith’s pubs which are possibly the cheapest in the capital, although you’ll have to contend with their own-brand beers and ciders, and don’t expect any fancy cocktails. Look for drinking holes \n\nWeekend pursuits
It’s easier to save money when the weather is good thanks to barbecues and sunbathing ops, and if you like getting out and about during the day there are plenty of museums, galleries, parks and markets that won’t cost you a penny to stroll around in – ultimate cheapskates can wander around Borough Market nibbling on free samples of organic cheese and acorn-fed pork till they’ve had their fill. If you like animals Hackney City Farm is free and open from Tuesday to Saturday, you can even catch the animals’ feeding time at 4 pm.
For a spot of daytime dancing Supperclub’s LOVEBRUNCH is on from midday to 6 pm on Saturdays. DJs play house, hip hop and soul, and by 2 pm everyone is on the dancefloor. Entry is free before 3 pm and there is a brunch menu on offer, however note that the cheapest item is a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel for £8.50. Still, if you’re there for the entire afternoon that works out at £1.41 per hour, and you’ll no doubt need some nutrition if you’re dancing for six hours.
After dark, numerous clubs offer free entry up until a certain time, and cheapskates are prepared to wait in an empty room while the warm-up DJ plays if it means saving a tenner. If you don’t have that much patience a healthy number of trendy Shoreditch venues such as Queen of Hoxton and The Old Blue Last have free entry club nights, new kid on the block The Nest usually charges £5 entry, and veterans Ministry of Sound and Fabric lower their door fee after 4 am. Others, like Sunday morning afterhours club Cable give you cheaper entry if you email them in advance to be added to their guestlist, otherwise expect to pay a whopping £15 on the door.
\n\nDown with consumerism
Cheapskates hunt for goods on Freecycle.org (where kind souls offer their unwanted items for free, mostly in very good condition. It’s not unheard of for people to have furnished entire rooms thanks to this website) before even considering forking out any cash, and even then there’s a list of places to try before you head to the high street: first Ebay, then Gumtree, then the charity shops. It’s going to take you a while longer to find what you need, but if you can get an iMac running OSX for free (yes, there have been reports) surely it’s worth the extra time.
In terms of clothes, you might finally have to become one of those people who wait patiently outside Selfridges for the doors to open on the first day of the sales, alternatively if you go during the second week the prices may have dropped further, but there’ll be less to choose from. Check out shops like Traid, proving second hand need not mean frumpy, or make your own
