Student Life in London Made Affordable (Part 2)
In the first part, we looked at ways to spend less while travelling or shopping for food in London. Read on for some further money-saving tips.
- Take full advantage of your student status
Being an international student in the United Kingdom can be expensive, but it has its own privileges too. Discounts and great deals are to be had just about everywhere. Restaurants, museums, art galleries, cinemas, retailers, banks often have something exclusively for students. So, take advantage of your student status by flashing your identity card as frequently as possible.
You may also want to join student discount schemes or clubs such as ISIC or NUS. An ISIC cardholder, for example, could get benefits in over 125,000 locations worldwide currently. Although there’s usually a fee to join these schemes, it’s worth spending the money because you’ll be entitled to innumerable discounts while your card remains active. Of course, how much you save would depend on how frequently you choose to take advantage of the offers you receive.
- Use the internet to help you spot discounts and offers
London undoubtedly provides an uninterrupted choice of free events and discounts all year round but how do you get to hear about them before it’s too late? After all, if you can’t be in the right place at the right time, none of those benefits can be enjoyed.
The internet can be a great help in this regard: there are several websites that tell you where to find the best student discounts in the UK. A couple of popular ones are StudentBeans and UniDays, both of which are also available as mobile phone applications. Most university students download these apps on their phone so that they don’t miss out on great deals, even on the essentials like laptops.
So if you follow these useful tips, enjoying student life in London shouldn’t cost you a fortune!
GLOSSARY
| privilege | ||
| Form | : | noun |
| Meaning | : | a special benefit that a group of people has |
| Example | : | If you become a full member of this club, you can enjoy many privileges. |
| exclusively | ||
| Form | : | adverb |
| Meaning | : | for only one particular person or group |
| Example | : | This café is exclusively for staff; visitors have to go out of the building to get food. |
| flash | ||
| Form | : | verb |
| Meaning | : | to show something, such as an ID card, to someone very quickly |
| Example | : | The police officer flashed his ID card at the security as he entered the private building. |
| take advantage of (something) | ||
| Form | : | phrase |
| Meaning | : | to make full use of something |
| Example | : | Josie’s kids took advantage of her absence to play in the rain. |
| in the right place at the right time | ||
| Form | : | phrase |
| Meaning | : | be in the best position to make full use of an opportunity |
| Example | : | Miguel isn’t very skilled, but he got the job because he was in the right place at the right time. |
| miss out on (something) | ||
| Form | : | phrasal verb |
| Meaning | : | to fail to benefit from an opportunity |
| Example | : | It’s sad that you won’t be attending the party – you’ll miss out on all the fun. |
| fortune | ||
| Form | : | noun |
| Meaning | : | a large sum of money |
| Example | : | Siobhan’s new motorbike cost a small fortune. |