Cheap Student Life in Edinburgh

There are many ways to sum up the life of an average student into a single word, and "cheap" would definitely fit the bill. Whether it is in North America, where students are bogged down with piling debt, or in Europe, where tuition is a fair bit cheaper in comparison, most students live on rather limited budgets and constantly seek ways to save that extra pound.

Here are some ways to be cheap as a Heriot-Watt student, which everyone living here knows already... but some items might be news to my precious Canadian readers. (Yes I love you all)


1. Free meals

At Heriot-Watt, there are free international dinners offered every Wednesday, courtesy of Chaplaincy. When I say "international dinners", I mean real food, not your standard free pizza that comes with half the usual amount of cheese. Students volunteer every week to bring to the table different foods from their home countries, and the turnout is generally very good. Some examples from this semester include: shepherd's pie (Scotland), an unnamed paprika chicken dish (Czech Republic), lasagne (Italy), couscous (Libya), tacos (Mexico), ratatouille (France), curry (Iran). Not only is going to these meals budget-friendly, but it is also great for socializing, since there are a lot of great students from different countries to meet!

2. Store brands

I've noticed that while most items at supermarkets are generally more expensive here in the UK compared to North America, the gap in prices between regular brands and "basic" store brands is also much larger. A good tip in the UK is to befriend white-and-orange (Sainsbury's Basics) or white-and-green (ASDA Smart Price) labelled items. Things like hand soap, a large bar of chocolate, or a 2L bottle of table water can be bought for less than 50c each. Or a pack of smoked salmon trimmings for less than $2. Sure, trimmings don't sound too enticing, but for feeding a single student, it doesn't matter... it tastes the same.

3. Closing hour discounts

This I learned one day while shopping at Sainsbury's near closing time on a Sunday. I was in the cashier line right behind an old man, who was only buying a sandwich and various pre-made sandwich fillings. King crab sandwich: Originally £2.30, now 20p. Sandwich fillings: Originally between £1-2, now 10p-20p. Items that would go bad overnight, but were still available near closing time. Probably not the freshest, but for things like fillings, it's not like I'd eat everything as soon as I came home anyways. The man's bill came up to only £1.48, which is equivalent to less than $3 CDN. Pretty sweet deal for one sandwich and three tubs of sandwich filling, if you ask me. It's not something I could live off every day, but I think it's worth a try someday.

4. Discount stores

In North America, these are referred to as the increasingly terribly misnamed "Dollar stores". In the UK, at least the name is more honest.. "Pound Stretcher". That way, I feel less scammed when I see items that do not cost exactly one pound. These stores are good for certain household items, e.g. laundry airer.

My new flat didn't seem to come with any laundry airers, so I was forced to go out and buy one before washing any clothes. At first, the "time is money" logic kicked in, and I went to Sainsbury's, only to find their cheapest airer costs £20 (almost $40 CDN). Not willing to spend that much. Next destination: ASDA - I was hoping for something from the white-and-green line that would cost less. Unfortunately, airers are not manufactured in store brands, and all I saw was the same airer at the same price. After wasting a lot of time, I ended up at a Pound Stretcher (at someone's recommendation), and came home with a £8 airer. Maybe the expensive ones would have been sturdier, but it didn't seem sturdier enough to justify such a great price difference.

5. Burton's Foods

There is a biscuit/cookie factory in Edinburgh by the name of Burton's Foods, with a picture on the side that advertises Royal Shortbread. Shortbread is quite expensive to buy from regular stores, and even more expensive if you're trying to get them in a tin. But for student eating purposes, who needs all that fancy overpriced packaging? I have been told that the factory sells imperfect products in huge bags for a mere pound or two - and yes, the bags *are* huge, I've seen a few. Here, imperfect potentially means broken, or some other minor defect that does not affect taste. And there's more than just shortbread... The biscuits coming out of this place taste amazing, and the factory is high up on my list of places to visit soon.



And off I go back to revising for tomorrow's exam. Wish me luck!

- C
Livin' it up in Edinburgh :)


p.s. For those of you who actually bother reading posts in their entirety, I will be doing my Christmas card run soon, and am willing to add in a few postcards from Edinburgh for those who ask. Please drop me an email at foodmathlife.c@gmail.com with the following information:

Everyone:
- Your name
- Mailing address

For those who don't know me personally (Or even if you know me, I like details.):
- Some background information about yourself
- One or two good reasons why I should send you a postcard