You have to know about the pounds (£) and pence (p). How much is a pint of milk (what is a pint?), what does a room cost per month and what does a Mercedes A Class cost new? Before you come to the UK you must make sure you’ve got enough money in your pocket!

In case you don’t know, we British are still refusing to join the rest of Europe in the Euro, so you need to exchange your hard-earned wages into Great British Pounds (Sterling or GBP) before you leave.

Getting Your Money 

You may be able to go to a cash-point when you arrive and draw out money using your normal cash card from your bank at home. However, every time you do this, you’ll be charged a fee. And besides this, it is worth bringing some cash with you so you don’t have to worry about the possibility of your card not working.

So, the most sensible thing to do is bring some cash and then transfer some funds from your old bank account once you open an account in the UK.

It is useful to have enough money for your first week because when you open a bank account in Britain it can take four or five days before you can use it. And when you do a transfer from your account back home, it will also take a couple of days to complete.

You will normally find that when you move into a rented property in the UK, you have to pay a deposit, plus a month’s rent in advance. So make sure you consider how to pay this as well.

If you can, try to organise this so you can pay the rent once you have transferred money from home. However, if this is not possible you are going to need a lot of cash when you get here.
 

In this case, it may be best to bring travellers cheques with you – if you lose your cash you won’t see it again. But lost or stolen travellers cheques are simply replaced – usually within 24 hours. They are almost as good as having the money itself, as you can walk to into any bank or Post Office and get them cashed. You can buy your travellers cheques at a bank or exchange bureau.

When you are ordering your Pounds or travellers cheques, look at the exchange rates before you buy. Normally, your own bank will offer an exchange service, but this is usually at a worse rate and will take longer than if you go to a bureau de change.  And the exchange rate can really make a lot of difference on how many pounds you get for your Euros or your Zloty!

English Money 

When you finally get your hands on your English money, get yourself used to it! We have £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes. Find out how much these are worth in your own currency so you can work out how much you are spending with each one. £50 notes are rare in most English wallets – these are worth around 60 Euros, or 530 Chinese Yuan!

If you are going to Scotland or Northern Ireland, you are also in for a bit of a surprise! The Great British Pounds you get when you exchange your native currency will all have a picture of the Queen’s head on them.

But if you are in Scotland when you spend them, you will only get Scottish notes in your change. This is because in Northern Ireland and Scotland, they have their own banks, which print their own notes! But don’t worry. They are just different versions of the same currency - you can spend all notes in all the countries of the United Kingdom, even though some people in England may look twice at notes from Scotland, for example.

Cash Machines 

Once you have got a bank account in the UK, made a transfer, or got paid from your new job, you don’t need to worry about travellers cheques and exchanging money. You can go and draw your money out from a cash-machine! You may hear people saying, “I’ll get cash from the hole in the wall” – they are talking about a cash machine!

But beware which ones you use. All of the British banks offer free cash withdrawals – and you can use your card in any machine – which means you can use one of about 35,000 cash-machines without being charged.

However, many shops, bars and restaurants now have cash machines inside. They look different to the cash machines outside banks and most of them charge you a fee of around £1.50 to draw out your money – so beware! They do always tell you before you take the money out if a fee is to be applied – so look out for this when you follow the instructions on the screen. The charge is for the convenience of being able to get money out from anywhere, but you may not agree that you should have to pay to get to your own money, in which case, plan your trips to the bank if there is not a cash machine close to where you live or work.

So, now all that’s left to do is start spending! You will probably find that some things are cheaper, and some things are more expensive than at home. So it will take some time for you to get used to how much things cost. To make things more complicated, the further you are to the south of the country, the more expensive it is to live. The biggest shock to some is the cost of a pint of beer, which will cost you somewhere between £3.50 and £4...

By Matt Taylor

To be listed here click

USEFUL WORDS

I was broke/skint at the end of last month = I had no money left (informal)

I’m rolling in it this month = I have a lot of money (informal)

It’s difficult to make ends meet sometimes = to survive financially

Things are a bit tight at the moment = my finances are not good (informal)

I was strapped for cash and I had to borrow money from my parents = needed money and had very little (informal)

She gave me a cheque for what she owed me but it bounced = the bank refused to pay it

Who shall I make this cheque out to? = What name shall I put on it?

Shall we put/stick this meal on my credit card? = shall we pay with a credit card? (informal)

Could you charge it to my credit card please? (formal)

The APR for this credit card is 23% = Annual Percentage Rate of interest

My card expires on 05/04 = is not valid after 

Charge card = card where you pay back the whole debt each month

Store card = credit card issued by a store/shop for that store

GRAMMAR SPOT

Countable / Uncountable Nouns & Quantifiers

Use these quantifying expressions with countable nouns: 

a few, several, each, a small number of, not too many, every few, not a large number of

Several companies offered me a credit card.

A small number of banks offer an interest-free period on new accounts.

Use these quantifying expressions with uncountable nouns:
a little, a small amount of, a bit of, not too much, a great deal of

You don’t need a great deal of money to travel in Europe.
Could you lend me a small amount of cash?
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->

Use these expressions with both countable and uncountable nouns:

some, any, most of, all, almost all

Use few with countable nouns and little with uncountable nouns to emphasise a lack of something:

There are few people who have enough money to go travelling = there are not many people who can do this

I can’t manage because I have little money at the moment = I don’t have a lot of money at the moment

A few and a little mean a small quantity, but have a more positive tone

There are a few people who have lots of money to go travelling = there are some people who can do this

I have a little money so I might be able to go = I have a small amount of money

NB money and cash are uncountable nouns!!