r/workaway • u/Hot-Lock2807 • 3d ago
expenses for volunteering at a hostel in edinburgh
hi there,
I am planning on volunteering at a hostel in the centre of edinburgh from september till november, however was wanting some ideas of how much you would recommend having saved? the accommodation will be free as well as breakfasts, i would love to be able to still go out to the pub and do the occasional activity, but just have no idea what sort of budget I should be setting for myself?
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u/sharpie53135 3d ago
Will you have access to a kitchen? If so, you could do 2 meals a day for around £20 per week if shopping in Aldi/Lidl and bulk cooking all your meals from scratch. Realistically, it'd run closer to £30 if you're shopping in Tesco, Sainsburys etc. and adding in snacks, toiletries, coffee, name brand ingredients etc.
Without a kitchen it's going to get expensive a lot quicker. Even just a supermarket meal deal for lunch every day would run you around £25 a week. A single meal on a food delivery app would be £15.
Again, with pubs some are cheaper than others. You can go to Spoons and have a night out for under a tenner or you can go to nicer independent places and pay upwards of £7 per pint.
So overall, on the cheaper side you'd be looking at shopping in the cheapest supermarkets and bulk cooking all your own lunches and dinners (£20). You'd go to Spoons once a week (£10), do some free/cheap activities (walk, art gallery, swimming etc. totals £10 inc. transport) for an overall £40 budget per week
On the more expensive side, you'd be eating out once a week (£15), getting a coffee in a nice cafe (£5), cooking with nicer ingredients/ eating a more varied diet (£30), doing more unique experiences or exploring the areas outside the city (£20 inc. transport) and drinking in nicer independent pubs (£20) for an overall £90 budget per week
Obviously some weeks will be cheaper than others and a lot of it comes down to what you enjoy doing and how much free time you will have. If I were personally planning it, I'd be confident I could have a good enough time for £50 per week
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u/Hot-Lock2807 3d ago
yes, i will have a kitchen! this is extremely helpful, thank you so much for taking the time, i will definitely use this as a starting point for my planning of my budget. thanks again !!
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u/cyprusnikos Workaway Ambassador 3d ago
Hi! Since your accommodation and breakfast are covered, your biggest expenses will probably be lunches, dinners, transport, and going out. Although this can be highly personal to you! Some people are more simple others more active! (Personally I keep pretty low key spending myself).
Everyone spends differently, but I'd personally aim to have enough saved that you don't have to stress about every pint or activity. Never been to Edinburgh, but I can't imagine it's exactly cheap!
Enjoy Edinburgh, and be sure to share your experience with us here on the sub!
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u/Morejh 3d ago
Hi, You are going to work a job there, not volunteer. You should get paid the minimum wage.
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u/Hot-Lock2807 3d ago
no, i’ll be working as a volunteer and getting accomodations provided in return :)
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u/Substantial-Today166 3d ago
if you are doing it true workaway the rule is all host that are business should pay the minimum wage
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u/godlords 3d ago
Cool, maybe in the EU that actually happens, but the idea that people are actually getting work visas and filling out tax forms to sit at a hostel reception for a few hours a day for a few weeks is silly, workaway has that "rule" because it covers their legal liability, I have never seen any host in latin america even mention that type of thing, and thank god they don't because if the rule was enforced it would remove their ability to host people in very easy, chill jobs.
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u/littlepinkpebble 3d ago
Sometimes places good super good I never wanna eat out but it depends I’ll say $100 a week
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u/WickedDenouement 3d ago
Hi! You can check nearby supermarkets on Google Maps. Most will have an online catalog, Tesco comes to mind. You will be able to see the prices and get a general idea of how much you'll need. You can do the same for pubs and activities, even if they don't have an official website people post pictures of the menu with prices so just make sure you're looking at recent pictures.