There is a huge difference between being stubborn and having your own opinion about any given topic. I have noticed that a lot of people are extremely stubborn when it comes to how they spend their money. We have ranted and raved so much about the living costs in London these days that it’s getting tiring. There is absolutely nothing you can do to cut down on those costs unless you stop paying for convenience.

Think about it, convenience is big money because it makes it easier for someone to use and something less for you to do but it all comes with a nice fat price tag. A lot of people around me still seem to think that you can buy a bus pass in London for one zone only, uhmm no, you buy one pass and you can use it in all six zones which will save you a few pounds by taking the bus from zone 2 into central London instead of taking the train or the tube. That is just one of many things you can do to put more money back into your pocket.

Others do not bother getting a Tesco Club Card or a Nectar card for when they do shopping at any of the big stores in London. Little do they know that every time you swipe that card for a purchase above £1 you get loyalty points. Those loyalty points add up quickly and you can redeem them for almost anything you like. A lot of people make use of the air miles feature the Tesco Club Card has while others like to stock up on Nectar points to get a free monthly shop.

Most things in London can save you a few pounds if you are willing to invest in a bit of time and effort to set it up right from the beginning and you’ll be smiling all the way the rest of the time. Make your own money stretch further and still live like a king.

London is days away from a complete booze ban on the entire TFL network as a pledge Boris Johnson made in his mayoral campaign. The booze ban comes into effect on the 1^st of June 2008 where nobody is allowed to carry an open bottle of alcohol on the public transport network.

This is in a bid to tackle the increasing numbers of anti- social behaviour amongst Londoners. Would this be a good move or a bad move for the new mayor of London? In one hand I can see where he is coming from, making the TFL network a safer place for people during all hours of the day. On the other hand I can see a bit of problem enforcing this new ban when it’s 1am in the morning; you have a carriage full of drunken people drinking on their way to the next party. The only man on the platform will not want to stand up to them alone, neither would I.  

What do you think about the booze ban?

When you switch on the television in the United Kingdom you tend to hear about the “Credit Crisis” the whole world is in because of what happened in the United States a couple of months ago. You hear “financial experts” telling us how worse off we all are living in the United Kingdom. Guess if you want a global panic, just put a reporter on the television for an hour to discuss money issues.

Exactly what does this “Credit Crunch” fiasco mean to the ordinary person living in the United Kingdom? Well, it basically means less money each year to live on as all the prices have gone up yet the big companies make millions, if not billions of pounds of profit from us. That’s just sick and twisted but they get away with it.

Food, petrol, diesel, gas, electricity, council tax and public transport fares have risen this year by quite a bit. They normally rise a bit every year, which is to be expected but the price rises this year have been ridiculous to be honest. This obviously mean we have to lower our living standards to survive each month and stay away from debt as far as possible because once you’re in that web, there’s no getting out.

It is about time anyone wishing to stay in the United Kingdom or already residing here becomes money savvy to get more for each pound you spend. I am not saying that you’ll be poor or broke all the time but the sooner you learn to spend your money responsibly, the better your life will be in the United Kingdom.