Small daily and weekly savings can add up to thousands of pounds by the end of the year. And with most of us fed up with our commute to work, having a rain check on your outgoings every month could mean a shorter commute and a longer lie in each day.
By making a few lifestyle changes, this handy infographic shows you just how much you could be saving.
But when it comes to putting away the pennies, what does this mean for your rental property search in London?
Using research from the Foxtons’ London Lettings Report, we’re able to look at the price differences between Zones 1, 2 and 3-6. And how making a few lifestyle changes each month could mean renting a property in a zone closer to work.
The report found that the weekly rent for a studio in Zone 1 is £319 a week, £279 a week in Zone 2 and £224 a week in Zone 3. This equates to £1,382, £1,209 and £971 a month respectively.
From our calculations, if you were to give up the daily Starbucks, drink 2 less pints a week and switch shop-bought lunches for homemade ones, this is the difference between being able to afford a studio flat in Zone 1 compared to Zone 2 – saving money on your commute if you’re closer to work.
This trade-off between living closer to central London and lifestyle choice is also apparent for one bedroom flats in Zones 2 and 3-6, where the monthly overall average cost in Zone 2 is £1,534 a month and in Zones 3-6, £1,282 a month.
"You could rent a property in a zone closer to work by making a few savings a week"
The difference between the monthly rental costs equates to £252, which between two people is easier to achieve – considering that two monthly gym memberships total £140 a month and cutting back a bit on the booze could save you £146 as well.
There are also other ways for you to save, such as walking to a station in a different transport zone and taking the underground or train from there to save on the fare difference.
Or make use of London’s Cycle Superhighways for a safer and free route into work. If you’re living in Zone 3 and working in Zone 1, cycling to work just one day a week could save you over £40 a month if you’re using a pay as you go Oyster card.
Our travel time search tool can help you find properties within a certain commute time of work, schools and any other destinations, while our tube map search tool allows you to search for properties along every underground and National Rail line.
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