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Whilst reading the posts on these forums, I was interested to see a few references to " living on 1000 euros per month".
As we are considering returning to Spain come pension time, some posts on the actual living costs would be useful. Can you live comfortably on 1000 per month? Does it depend on where you live?. I realise it also depends on how you live, however we would not be looking at an extravagant lifestyle, just ordinary day to day life.
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It depends on if you need to pay rent. Where I live you can rent a 2 bed house for about 200 a month, so yes you could aford it. But if your rent was much more than that I doubt it! If you have a house then providing you are not extravegant you could manage easily.
Caz
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I dont know about 1000 euros..but i have a friend living there , costa brava , very comfortably for 1500 euros a month.....
there are two of them and he reckons with a car included he can do easily for 1700 euros..
p.s....eats out twice a week
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If you don't have to pay rent, it should be easy enough to live on 1000 euros per month if you don't eat out all the time.
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This question is very relevant for anyone contemplating retirement in Spain.
So based on comments below, is the general consensus:
Basic Living: 1000E per month ??
Comfortable: 1500 - 2000E per month ??
The above assumes a couple owning a property with 1 car.
Regards,
Harry
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quote Harry...
So based on comments below, is the general consensus:
Basic Living: 1000E per month ??
Comfortable: 1500 - 2000E per month ??
The above assumes a couple owning a property with 1 car
In a word... Yes! for planned expenditure, but you need a contingency fund as back up just in case of unforeseen problems... for example... Car breaks down needs a new engine or gearbox (possibly costing around 2.500€) or short notice return to the UK (airfares, taxis etc etc).
Both of these examples are from personal experience.
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Many thanks Foxbat.
I assume one off major expenses could possibly be factored into the 1500 - 2000E range & that these estimates would also adequately include private health insurance for a couple ??
Cheers,
Harry
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Harry,
I assume one off major expenses could possibly be factored into the 1500 - 2000E range & that these estimates would also adequately include private health insurance for a couple
So far as one off expenses are concerned it obviously depends upon the frequency and nature of the unplanned expense... there are always little gotchas that occur when living here (or anywhere else for that matter) that fall outside of the routine budget for example, in the case of the unexpected and hence unplanned return to the UK the short notice airfares can be considerably higher than those that are budgeted for months in advance; say for two people at perhaps 250€ each one way ( the airlines love short notice trips, they have you by the short and curlies and milk it for all its worth...) plus taxis or train fares at both ends you could be looking at maybe 1250€ or more for the round trip... that makes a prettty big hole in the budget. Which is why I suggest a contingency fund outside of the normal budget.
As for private health insurance, I cannot comment as we dont have any; we are both pensioners and the Spanish Health service is available to us under the reciprocal arrangements with the UK's NHS. Obviously the premiums for private healt insurance vary tremendously with every case and can be quite high depending on age and pre-existing medical conditions. The answer here must be to research the issue with the major Health Insurance companys like Sanitas (actually BUPA) and others.
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Thanks Foxbat - all very helpful/practical data !!
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Harry...
that about seems right.......btw. in 2000 euros my friend is renting at the moment.....489 euros
insurance, food, etc is 1300 euros......300 is emergency fund inc sudden car repairs, put aside every month....
he tells me he would be hard pressed to try and spend more than 2200 euros if he has an average lifestyle.....cheers
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Hi, well I would think that I was rich if I had 1000€pm to live on !! I am single so maybe that makes a difference but I can live comfortably on 700€. I economise by reducing water consumption in my toilets, (put a brick or bottle of water in the cistern) I never use a kettle as they use alot of electricity and I dont use an electric oven. I have a microwave and one of those toaster ovens (fan assisted) and i find that this is more than adequate... in fact the toaster oven is more efficient than a conventional oven. I am moving to Valencia soon so I will buy a years metro ticket and only use my car for heavy shopping or travelling further afield. I will have more cash once my current house sells but for the moment I am fine and even manage to eat out occasionally. If you are buying a house it is worth getting to know your local cafe and go there fairly regularly for a drink or breakfast and eventually you may get `mates rates` when you pay. The same goes for your local garage...chat to them (no I am not fluent in spanish but we get there with a bit of spanish, a bit of drawing what I want and alot of humour) and they will often do small repairs for free or a small charge. Speak as much Spanish as you can and most people will be friendly and helpful, even if you cannot speak much spanish take the time to work out what you need to say and write it down...and apologise for your lack of spanish.
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If you own your house outright and live on a good Public Transport route so you don't need a car you will be hard put to spend 1,000 Euros a month.
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You are quite right ...rent or mortgage monthly is the key issue....It should not exceed more than 25 percnt of your gross budget....
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From recent experience it is entirely possible to live on €1000 per month in Spain.
We paid €495 per month for a very comfortably furnished modern villa with superb views, a pool and jaccuzzi, ensuite dressingroom and luxury bathroom with another jacuzzi, full entertainment package, internet connection and a large garden. Central heating, which we never used and a log-burner which provided all necessary heating.
Being 3 kilometres from the nearest pub cut down on socializing and having only half a dozen neighbours within walking distance made for a solitary lifestyle but so relaxing.
A supermarket trip took more than half a day (50km driving) and encouraged sensible buying; the markey for vegetables, Lidl for essentials like stilton, Typhoo and wine, Mercadona for most other dry goods, beer and fish and the local Spaish butcher for meat. A shopping trip would set us back €150 - 200.
Realistically sized fridge and freezer meant a trip only only once in three weeks and the car stayed parked for most of the rest of the time. It cost around €250 to insure and petrol becasue it was a small car, cost around €40 per month.
A prepaid sim card and internet access cost around €40 per month which leaves arounf €200 a month for discretionary spending.
I completely agree that a sink fund is essential, as it is anywhere.
Each to their own:
If you want to spend your time socializing with other Birts then you can double that budget. The local bar is never the meeting place, more likely a trendy cafe; health is the subject of the day, every day and that's guarateed to send you to the doctor even if only for valium so good health insurance is essential. You'll need a samrt phone to maintain your contact list and that meal out will cost an average of €25 per head without wine.
We like the quiet lifestyle and came for the weather not the socializing, others may find it more challenging as one is forced to amke one's own entertainment and spend weeks on end alone with one's partner.
No doubt my views will be challenged, they usually are but just to dispell misconceptions we were only twenty minutes from the coast, not much further from excellent medical facilities and within driving distance of two international airports.
On the sublect of flight costs we have booked at short notice and except in high season can usually find a flight for around €100. We use a Spanish engineer who charges us Spanish prices to repair the car and parts can be fairly easily obtained via the internet at prices well below those quoted by English speaking garages.
All of that said we have now abandoned Spain for sunnier climes where everyone speaks English, property prices are significantly lower than even Fire Sale Spain and no, we're not saying where as expats are still thin on the ground here and thats the way we like it.
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Delaluzian
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So looking from the UK for a single pensioner inland the costs would be roughly as below perhaps?
Rent 500 €
Electric 50
Gas 10
Water 40
Satellite Television 30
Telephone/Broadband/
Skype/Mobiles 60
Local/Council Tax 50
Car/Tax/Ins/Fuel/Service 70
Food 200
Misc 190
Total 1200
This message was last edited by gerrryuk on 06/10/2012.
This message was last edited by gerrryuk on 06/10/2012.
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My cost of living is 75% of that in England.
A couple who own their own home, run a car and
" menu del dia " twice a week, can live on 1000e a month.
Health problems, if not in the Spanish system can be covered
using one of the private EMERGENCY SYSTEMS ONLY, for about
350e pa. per couple .
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I live here 7 months a year and go home to UK November to end March basically when the clocks change as I find the long evenings/nights too long. I have £350 a month sent out from UK and find that adequate to live on. I don't pay rent but I do run a large car (Ford Focus 1.9) I live alone and have TV, telephone and internet at €50+/month. I usually go home once during those 7 months but find my Euros build up once I'm in the UK but obviously have to pay community fees (nearly €100/month) electricity and water whilst I'm gone. I usually bring €500 with me when I return just incase I have any emergencies so if I upped my monthly payment to £500 I would have more than enough so €1000 would be ample for 2 people I would think.
PS I do not live in a cheap part of Spain but right on the coast with a beatiful sea view
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Thing is there are many third world countries where life is much more expensive than in spain.
As a fifty
year old i have been living "pre.retirement " in Spain.
I dont have to count every penny i spend , but in most Euro countries it should be easily possible to live on 2000 a month
A friend of mine who imigrated to AUstria is living quite well with a family of 3 on 1900 euros
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Hi My husband and i own our property and we run a car and we do live on 1000 euros per month. I worked out our bills throughout the year which includes everything from car and house ins to suma, water and electric telephone broadband and tv also included, to be 70euros per month and put this into a seperate account with the direct debits set up, so i don't have to worry about that. We eat well but not expensively, drinking out is still cheap, pint for my husband glass of wine for me 3.20 euros !!! We could not live in England for the equivalent amount thats for sure.
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Gerry - your rent estimate is very high if you are looking at villages, though l gather that urbanisation rents + community charges may be higher than ordinary village streets. In my village there are many houses to rent at around €250. If there's a satellite dish in place you don't need a monthly contract, just a €50 freesat box gives 600 channels inc all the UK channels. Your council tax estimate is high, village houses less than €20 pm, and my water (supplied by the town hall) is similar. But perhaps allow a little more for electricity, especially over the winter, and for the first few months while Endesa make you pay their silly estimates of €90! The original question is difficult to answer as surely there is a big divide between those paying rent or mortgage, and those not. And the emergency fund needs to be bigger for property owners than for tenants. People with savings don't need to budget a monthly emergency fund. But the general sharing of monthly expenses is really useful, for newbies and old-timers alike!
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