Thursday, October 31, 2013

Reading: 2 of 2

I love to travel. I believe same goes to you. But when it comes to budget then the worries start to seep in. I did my homework before I get in here and I was told although the British pound is expensive, foodstuff could be the least of the headache. 

So I try to list everything that I purchased, so I could keep an eye on my spending. This list is my meal for the whole weak but with some conditions. First, the apartment which I stayed has its own kitchen so I cook my own meal every time. If you are talking about eating out, then this won't be very much appropriate. Second, I bring some packed meal from home, apart from to remind me how warm it is back home, I hope this will lasted for a few weeks before I need to really think where to source fresh supply. Third, I haven't tasted chicken, beef or even fish since the day I came here, so if you were really a humongous carnivore trying to have half chicken for every meal, then it would probably cost you more. My formula is just to keep my meal simple, take in heavy breakfast (rice/pasta/penne etc) early in the morning, nibble something while at the university and upon returning home, I normally ate bread, lettuce and bananas. These were simple, yet proved to be much filling until I rest for the night. Fourth, this based on buying groceries at (mostly) Poundland/World, 99p shop, Tesco and Sainsbury's. The fact that I lived near to the town making all this even more easier.

So straight to the list (in Sterling Pound):

Bread - Kingsmill (halal certified) - 1.00 x 2 = 2.00  
Lettuce - 60p
Milk (1 pint) - 49p x 2 pints = 0.98p
Cadbury Brunch Treat - 99p x 2 = 1.98
Eggs - 1.00 (10 eggs only from 99p shop)
Chocolate mix - 1.00
Sainsbury Lemon and Ginger Tea - 80p (for 20 sachets)
Penne (2 packs) - 99p
Tomato Puree (3 medium size cans) - 99p
Sunflower cooking oil (500 ml) - 1.00
Bananas (pack of 5 large) - 50p

Just over 10 quids. This is only possible if you don't mind cooking and not having rice with chicken or any kind of meat. There's halal outlet at the university, and normally it cost like 4 pound for each meal but big portion. But other thing like electrical item may cost you a bomb, firecracker actually. For instance:

Kettle (0.4 Litre, very small travel like one) = 6.59
Filter jug - 6.59
I bought pillows - 2.94 for 2 pillows.
Saucepan - 2.90
Tefal pan - 7.99

I bought few items from ebay. I found it easy to shop with ebay here and for some items like toys, it way much cheaper. Don't know your preference, but if you don't mind eating the same menu everyday, I would say meal is done. Chocolate is very cheap but I restrained from having too much because am planning to loose some weight. 

Cheers!!


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