How Much Does Stuff Cost?

With the dollar as low as it is, we've gotta make your money stretch!  In planning your budget for food and general spending, of course it totally depends on your spending habits.  

In the UK, food prices are about the same as the prices in the states number-wise.  That means that something that costs $2.50 in the states is likely to be priced at £2.50 (maybe a little less) in the UK.  To give you a general idea, here are some price estimates:

Chinese/Indian take-out entree: £6.50

Loaf of bread: £.79

2 Litres of milk: £1.30

Breakfast at cafe: £5

Pub Grub Dinner: £6

Fish & Chips: £4

The cheapest places to get a filling meal are Indian and Chinese restaurants and fish & chips stands.  Sometimes the fish & chips places can be astoundingly cheap.  

Mini Vocabulary guide: 

ordering a burger:

when they say, "sauce and salad?" that means "would you like any of a variety of sauces and some lettuce on your burger?" 

if you say "no" you will get a burger on a bun, nothing else.

if you say "yes" you will then specify what sauce you want.  The options are a bunch of things you've never heard of,  so either stick with mayo, or go for "brown sauce" - an English classic.

ordering fish and chips:

when they say, "salt and vinegar?", you say "yes" if you want to eat the English way.  They will pour vinegar all over the chips and salt them.  It is quite likely they will be served wrapped up in paper. 

if you can't stomach the vinegar, then you'll probably order ketchup.  The Brits don't eat chips with ketchup and subsequently don't understand how to serve chips with ketchup.  They will pick up the ketchup bottle and dump it all over the chips, kind of like nachos.  

Here's another great way to eat cheap and like a local: look for little bake shops called Gregg's - they are all over the UK.  At Gregg's you can get super-cheap, super-traditional English food.  That doesn't mean it's guaranteed to be tasty, but guaranteed to be an adventure!  They specialize in donuts and "pasties", which are kind of like homemade hot-pockets.  Try the Lamb and Mint Pastie, or the Cornish.  They are hot, fresh, filling, and cost less than a pound.