Money Saving Tips for Your Study Abroad Adventure
Are you dreaming about taking an English course abroad or studying in an English-speaking country? Many young people would love to try to live abroad but they’re often paralysed by fear of it being extremely expensive.
As you can learn from our blog post about the cost of studying abroad, it’s often less expensive than what people think. Moreover, there are many saving tips that can help you economise and fulfill your dream of exploring another country!
1. Learn More About Your Dream Destination
If you’re planning to take an English course abroad or study full time in a different country, you should learn more about the city you’d like to go to first. The cost of living will differ from place to place and it’s much easier to save before the trip when you know how much you should expect to spend every month.
When you know all the details you can set your monthly budget and see how much you can save. Be realistic when doing it and take into account the fact that sometimes you’ll have to eat out or you’ll feel like having some fun out with your friends. Plan for it but otherwise stick to your budget ruthlessly.
2. Small Things Matter
One of the most important money saving tips is: small amounts matter more than you think. It’s by saving on smaller expenses you don’t even notice that you end up saving a lot. You should think ahead to avoid unnecessary purchases: drink your coffee at home, prepare packed lunch in your own kitchen and buy in bulk at supermarkets rather than in corner shops.
Remember to hold on to your change too. People often underestimate how much they have in pennies! A good idea not to lose count of them is to put your coins in a piggy bank every day when you come home. Once a month you can open it and check how much money you’ve saved up.
3. You Don’t Need It? Sell It!
A good way of making money for your study English abroad experience is selling things you no longer need. We all like to clutter and keep things in our house indefinitely. What’s really the purpose of a library full of books you’ve already read? A wardrobe with plenty of clothes you never wear? Or a DVD collection with dust on it?
Have a proper look at what you own and you don’t need or use. Can it be sold? If yes, find the right place to sell it for the best price. You’ll be surprised how much money you can make this way!
4. Never Ever Waste Money
This is one of the most obvious money saving tips that many people ignore: never ever waste money! If I asked you whether you do that, you’d probably say you don’t. To be sure have a look at yours subscriptions. Do you actually go to the gym and use all the apps you pay for every month?
When saving to go study abroad and learn English in a different country, don’t forget to have a look at your monthly expenses. You’re going to be shocked to see how much money you waste without even noticing!
5. Avoid Splurging
Very often doing things right makes it more difficult to avoid subsequent temptations. That means that if you take to heart all of our money saving tips it may be more challenging for you to avoid temptations such as splurging. Why?
Just think about it. You know that you’re being very good and self-disciplined with money. That’s why it’s easy to justify a once-off indulgence. Even a singular shopping spree, however, may spoil your monthly efforts! How to resist it? Remind yourself about your goal. When tempted tell yourself: This thing is nice but I don’t need it. My dream is to study English abroad and I need to save money to be able to do it.
6. Supplement Your Income
The last suggestion on our list of money saving tips is finding a way to supplement your income. If you don’t work, consider working part-time and if you work full-time, think about doing some paid overtime. Are there any new ways in which you could make money?
Try thinking outside of the box. Consider teaching your skills to someone, selling baked goods or homemade food as well as dog walking. There are many ways to supplement your income to earn more cash and make your dreams come true.
No one likes saving. Still, denying yourself certain things in order to achieve a long-term goal such as learning English abroad will make you feel very proud of yourself. If you have any other money saving tips that we haven’t mentioned, let us know in the comments’ section.
Do you have enough money on your account and you’re ready to book your learn English abroad experience? Choose what you like the most in our course offer!
The Ultimate Guide to Rocking Your Study Abroad in London Trip
London is considered one of the most exciting cities in the world. This cosmopolitan place is full of culture and history. Learning English by going to study abroad in London is a great idea! There’s a number of tips that can make you enjoy your trip even more. Read our article to make the best of your stay in the capital of England.
It’s Not Cheap but Not Everything Costs a Fortune Either
London is a relatively expensive place and this has mostly to do with the pound exchange rate. You need to be aware of that to plan your budget for your study abroad in London adventure.
Set your monthly expenses at a certain level and don’t go overboard unless there’s an emergency. The easiest way to stick to your budget is by good planning. Ask around and find grocery stores with reasonable prices, try to eat in as often as you can and prepare pre-packed lunch at home. When you want to eat or go out remember to look out for specials, discounts and promos such as happy hour.
That London isn’t cheap, however, doesn’t mean that everything there costs a fortune. There are many things that can be done for free or cheaply. Some of them are mentioned on our list of 5 hidden gems in London, others include many museums, art galleries and parks.
It’s Not Always Sunny in London
Apparently British people spend as many as 4 months of their lives talking about the weather! The weather in England is a broad topic and there are many stereotypes about it. It doesn’t always rain there and summers can be quite pleasant but you should be prepared for some rain and cold days. Especially for people coming from hot countries the English weather can initially be a challenge. Relax and try to enjoy it – it’s just a part of the experience.
When packing for your trip to study abroad in London, you should definitely remember to take an umbrella and a raincoat with you. If you’re going to be there in winter take warm clothes with you too. What else to consider? To find out, read our blog post about 5 things to consider for your study abroad list.
Allow Yourself to Be a Tourist
When you go to study abroad in London you may want to fit in very quickly and pretend that you come from there or at least that you’ve already spent a long time living in this beautiful city. Try not to give in to this temptation, at least in the beginning. Allow yourself to be a tourist and to do the touristy stuff. It’s popular for a reason and it’d be a shame to miss out on these experiences.
Yes, there are millions of pictures of the London Eye and Big Ben but none of them has you on them yet! Enjoy the big attractions and take as many pictures as you can. This is what will remind you about the trip in many years, when you’re telling your grandchildren about that time when you went to study abroad in London.
Don’t Forget to Do What Locals Do Too
Visiting the touristy places is a part of your study abroad in London experience. However, you shouldn’t forget to chat with locals and listen to their recommendations of places to go to. Hang out with people who have have been in London for a while to gain insight about the city.
You can’t say you’ve experienced it if you only visit the tourist attractions. To fully feel the atmosphere of London, for instance, you should definitely go to a local pub and have a meal with a pint. On the weekend you should visit local markets with your friends to try local and international food.
Last but not least, don’t forget that practising English is one of your goals. Watch local TV channels, especially the ones that are not available in your country and listen to the radio. Don’t forget that when you chat to locals you may impress them with your knowledge of British slang expressions.
Do you know what’s the most important part of your study abroad in London experience? Having fun and making unforgettable memories! We hope our tips will help you do exactly that. Are you ready to learn English in London?
A Guide to Staying with a Host Family When Studying Abroad
Staying at homestay is a great way of seeing how people live in a different country. Read our guide to learn what to do in order to make your experience even better.
Top 10 Most Common English Phrases You Will Use When Studying Abroad
Would you like to learn English abroad but you’re scared of the experience too? Don’t worry! We’ve prepared for you a list of 10 most common English phrases you can use during your language stay.
5 Things to Consider for Your Study Abroad Packing List
Packing for your study abroad adventure isn’t an easy task. We’ve prepared a list of 5 things to consider for your study abroad packing list to help you with this challenge.
10 Reasons Why You Should Study Abroad
You’d like to study abroad but you’re not really sure that it’s the right thing to do for you. Read our list of 10 reasons why you should study abroad and let us convince you!
5 Tips to Choose Your Study Abroad Programme
Are you struggling to choose the right study abroad programme for yourself? Read our article and use 5 tips we’ve prepared for you to help you with this task.
A Few Differences Between the United States and Turkey
There are many differences between the United States and Turkey. Learn about some of them and get prepared for your life of a Turk expat.
Live Abroad: 10 Reasons to Choose Canada for Your New Home
Choosing the country, where you want to live is never easy. Let us help you with our article about 10 reasons why to move to Canada.
Get Ready to Study Abroad with Our Useful Tips
You must be so excited! You’ve already booked your language course abroad and you’ve bought your flight tickets. Very soon you will embark on a journey to an English-speaking destination to study abroad.
Are you feeling a bit anxious? Don’t worry, that’s completely normal. As much as we all love travelling and exploring new places, a trip abroad is always a bit stressful. We understand that at LAL, which is why we’ve written down for you a number of tips on how to prepare for studying abroad.
1. Learn More About Your Destination
The unknown can be scary, especially if it’s your first trip abroad on your own. This is why it’s important to do some research about the place you’re going to visit. Learn about the cool places to see, read what people say about your destination on travel forums and check out how it all looks like on Google maps.
Did you know that on our website many schools offer a virtual trip around the premises? Thanks to this functionality you can get a sense of how it would be to study abroad, before you’re even there. Visit our website and check out other English courses abroad.
2. Make Sure You’re Ready
The travel preparation cannot be completed without you making sure that everything is ready. Have you taken care of your visa? Do you have a packing list?
There are many important details to take into account when you’re about to leave your country to study abroad. One of the ugliest surprises you can get, for instance, is to find out that you can’t charge or use any of your appliances because the plugs there are different than the ones in your home country.
Try to connect with people who have already travelled to a given destination. You can also ask your LAL contact for some insight to avoid such situations and as much info as they can provide you with about your English course abroad.
3. Learn the Basics of Local English
Another thing that will help you in your preparation for study abroad, regardless of your current skills, are the basics of the local variation of English.
Yes, English speakers from different countries can understand one another pretty well but it makes one’s life much easier to know at least a few words of local slang. Do you know that in informal South African English “a robot” means “traffic lights” and in British English slang “a glass of beer” is called “a pint”?
Learn some useful local vocabulary and impress your friends at the school and your teachers during your English course!
4. Linguistic Travel Preparation 101
Apart from the basics of the local lingo, you may want to practice chatting to native speakers. To study abroad means, first and foremost, to communicate with others in a foreign language. You’ll get plenty of practice there but you’ll feel much more confident, if your first conversations happen before your journey. Find a language partner from the country you’re travelling to for a few session before your trip or try socializing with local expats.
You can also opt for listening to recordings of the local accent as initially it may be challenging to understand it, if you’re used to a different variation of English.
Are you going to the UK? Remember to check out this list of British series to improve your pronunciation. Whatever your destination, take our word for it – you’re going to have a much nicer trip if you work on these skills rather than test them for the first time at the airport.
5. Brush up on Travel Vocabulary
Speaking of airports…it would be useful for you to have some travelling vocabulary mastered. That’s probably one of the best travel tips anyone could give you to help you avoid stressful situations. You’re on your way to study abroad, after all – you’re meant to be excited and not scared.
Have a notebook with the most important phrases with you and don’t forget to carry a hard copy of a small dictionary. We love everything digital too but up in the air you may not be able to use your Internet connection when you need it. Seeing that you still have Internet access at the moment, why don’t you check out our vlog to learn some useful travel phrases?
6. Remember About Your Goals
You almost know everything now about how to prepare for studying abroad. There’s still one more thing you should remember and this is that… you’re going there to improve your English!
Studying abroad can be an absolutely amazing adventure. You’ll meet people from countries all around the world, you’ll explore a new destination and you’ll learn about other cultures. You’ll definitely have a lot of fun!
Nevertheless, don’t forget that your primary goal is to learn English. You can hang out with your compatriots all you want but remember to use English even with them. Do your homework like your teacher says for the best results. Last but not least, swap a supermarket for a corner shop to maximise your exposure to real life conversations.
It’s quite natural to be slightly stressed before you get on the plane to study abroad. Fortunately, the tips from our guide on how to prepare for studying abroad will help you ease the anxiety. An English course in an English-speaking country is a truly amazing experience and we’re sure you’ll really enjoy it.
If you have any questions regarding your stay with LAL, remember to drop us a line and we’ll gladly answer your questions. To better prepare for your trip, remember to also explore other posts on our blog.