Here is the third and final instalment of my money diary series for living in Scotland. I tackled money diaries for St Andrews and Edinburgh before and today Stirling.
Stirling, this small town in the heart of Scotland, is much cheaper than the previous locations. It shouldn’t come as a surprise of course! Stirling was in fact named the most affordable city in the UK (though the term city is used loosely here…).
Stirling is largely a student town, with many young families, commuters to Glasgow or Edinburgh and retirees.
The Brit and I are lucky that we never rented in Stirling. The Brit bought a one-bed flat in the city centre in 2014 and we lived there until we bought our upgraded 2-bedroom flat in a much nicer area of town in 2017.
Our living costs have always been low for that reason, but I’ve looked at friends’ budgets and looked at what’s available online to create this.
Monthly budget for Stirling:
Rent = £750 (This is the average rent for a two-bed flat in a nice-ish area of Stirling. Our mortgage is much lower.)
Energy bills = £60
Council tax = £108 (Based on our one bedroom in the city centre / £0 for only students sharing a flat)
TV licence = £0 (we still don’t have a tv…)
Broadband = £20
Mobile = £10 pp (sim only)
Grocery shopping = £240
Transport = £30pp (monthly bus pass to and from uni) or £246 (monthly train pass to Edinburgh) or £214 (monthly train pass for Glasgow
Average for someone studying/working in Stirling = £565 / £610
Average for someone commuting to Glasgow/Edinburgh = £980 / over £1,000
As you can tell, for someone who is living and studying (or working) in Stirling, it is indeed the cheapest place we’ve lived.
There are some expensive areas that are similar to Edinburgh in prices, but it’s also an easy place if you want to try to live cheaply.
There are all kinds of supermarkets, from Aldi to Waitrose, so there is plenty of choice.
The offering in terms of restaurants to eat out (and Deliveroo for that matter) is much smaller than in other cities. Meaning we’re less likely to spend our money out. Though if we do, food and drinks generally do cost less in Stirling, which is a plus!
And it’s easy to go for a day or night out in Edinburgh or Glasgow, where there is plenty to choose from.
The commute can be expensive and time-consuming (I can vouch for that), but balances out due to generally lower rent / mortgage costs.
If you have any questions about budgeting to live in Stirling, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
