Living on 1000.euros

Blue5147

Although expensive Mercadona sell Tetley tea ( @ 1.90)? for a packet of 40 teabags. They also sell Dunmor Cheddar cheese and ,very tasty, Tuc (crackylu) buscuits for cheese.

If you have an Upper supermarket in your area then ask the manager if he would get in the popular Brit products you require. Our local Upper in La  Estacion, Lorca can order in anything we want, with availablity the following day,  plus their prices are often cheaper than Iceland and other known Brit food shops.

It was a bank holiday yesterday and I was bored, so I worked out our costs for electricity(Endesa) compared with the current tariff of our old UK supplier (EDF)

Both here and in the UK they charge by the KWh so it's not hard to work out.

Including VAT (IVA) at current rates and using XE for the currency converstion the costs are almost identical at around 0.15/ 0.17 a KWh

 Surprising, that.  Last time I looked electricity was more expensive in Spain.  Must be the higher pound that has made the difference.  Imagine if it had stayed at 1.50 to the pound.

However, it wasn't electricity in UK that was the crippler. The gas, which we used for hot water, central heating and cooking, was the biggy.  Monthly standing order for electric was around £33 a month in UK (about 40 euros) which compares with an average of 86 euros a month here so quite a difference.  However, the gas standing order was £48 a month (€60) so combined that made it €100.  Not that much difference overall as I am sure that, whilst UK is predicted to have rises of 9 to 14 percent in the next month or so, Spain will probably have the same increase.  Council tax in UK has been mentioned and, whilst not having anywhere near the amount some quote, at £147 a month for ten months and the £45.40 standing order for water (nearly €240 a month combined) does make a significant inroad.

And for Blue 5147 - Agreed on the tea.  I don't drink it but the OH does and anyone visiting has instructions to bring over half a suitcase full of Welsh Tea bags when they visit (failing that, Yorkshire tea is an alternative).  The Gama supermarket near us sells Yorkshire tea but it is rather expensive, so the OH tells me.  I drink coffee myself and the amount of lovely stuff available here keeps me very happy.  

On the cheese side, I'm surprised you find it difficult to get.  Maybe different areas but our Gama, Consum and Mercadona always have a good selection.  Pilgrims Choice, Eden Vale and Kerrygold (mild, medium, mature and vintage/extra mature) are always on offer with Kerrygold extra mature at €8.95 a kilo this week.  We even have an English cheese stall on our local market for and Gama does things like Red Leicester, Double Gloucester etc (no Caerphilly, though, which is a shame).  There are some nice Spanish cheeses around.  We got those multi-packs to start to see which we like.  I like the Queso de Cabra and the OH has settled on Roncero Tierno.  Can't help with the cheesey biscuits, though.  Only TUC cheese and TUC bacon.  Did see some that looked like the Cheesey Bites one you get but they were a bit plain.

 Thanks Tamara, l at the moment I find I am being guided by you a lot, you are so helpful, thank you.

In a couple of weeks as well as looking around Nerja, Torrox & Frigiliana, we are looking in the villages, for instance, Acequias, Pinos de Valle, Benzar, Murchias & maybe even your village! Acequias though particularly attracts me.

All well within my budget without touching savings, 1000€ is well within.

(ps out of interest does the € come prior or after the numbers?)

 Yea Tamara we land at 21.30 on the 24th so only 10 days & 23 hours to go, though we start off at about lunchtime. Thanks again &  the excitement is mounting .............................

Hi Gerry

Our place isn't that far from Pinos del Valle and Beznar, but I don't know them that well as there's a big, fat mountain between us.  I haven't been to Beznar for many years; not since my friend and I popped in to take a look and have a coffee one morning and were outraged to find out that there was only one cafe/bar in the village and it was shut!  That was about 8 years ago, so maybe there's more happening there now.  I think the Lecrin is generally pretty cold in the winter though, being that bit further inland and not all that far from Granada.  Maybe you should take a look at one of those websites which give you an idea of the average monthly temperatures for different areas?  Personally, I'd favour the places closest to the coast in terms of winter temperature.  All the best.

Hi Bobaol,

            Thanks for the advice about cheese, we have a new 'Consum' locally so I will take a look in there.  As for the tea, it is cheaper in Iceland than in UK at the moment, €1.50 for 80 Tetley Bags!!  As for the cheese biscuits Iceland sell 'Jacobs Cheeselets' in tubs, so I buy as many as I can afford! 

                   Going back to the original 'thread'   'GerryUK' please make sure you have plenty of cash for the first few months because you seem to be paying out for every thing to begin with but it does slow down and eventually you get the hang of it!  You usually pay cash for all the legal things like NIE,Padron, Residencia, Change of Licence, from then on it depends on whether you are Renting or Buying!   We bought through 'Parador' who thankfully went under eventually after costing a lot of us a lot of money, check out your 'English' speaking Solicitor as well, we got caught out there as well but thankfully they left Town when everyone turned on them.  The only money we had was what we had sold our English house for!  Our only income was my Pension to begin with, my husband got a job but was last in first out when the 'Crisis' started.

 Many thanks but like Bret Maverick, you always keep something back!!

 We were having quite a discussion (not an argument) on here a month ago so I decided to see if that 1,000 euros a month was really viable.  A month ago, after some discussion, I drew 700 euros out of the bank in cash to see how we would fare (300 left behind to pay the bills etc - remember that is with no mortgage or rent.)

Well, it was cheating a bit because, of course, we had stuff in the store cupboard like sauces, condiments, spices etc already to hand.  What I did do was put everything in the freezer into one drawer and start from fresh.

Firstly, I'm a dirty, horrid, smelly smoker (I know, I know, I've started again much to my horror) so at 10 a day (sheesh, it should be easy to stop) I've already spent almost 50 euros on that shocking thing.  Sigh.

In the last month we have not scrimped, changed our habits or anything like that.  We have been out for an evening meal 5 times in that month and 4 times for lunch (which is usually quite light, coffee and share a bocadillo or coffee and cake etc).  The OH spent €35 at the garden centre and €22.95 on a heated clothes drier which she simply had to have. A new lock for the post box as I broke the key off in the old one. The evening meals out included sharing a bottle of wine each time.  Stocking the freezer was easy.  A joint of roasting beef was €15 but was a large one and we got three Sunday dinners out of it.  We bought pork chops, pork steaks, magra pork and pork ribs.  Lamb chops, lamb shanks,  Fish (hake and cod) and prawns.  Chicken legs, a couple of whole chickens, chicken breasts.  Fruit and veg was bought fresh at the market (one cauliflower at 1.25 which the OH blanched and made 4 packs).  Potatoes, tomatoes, apples, pomegranates, lemons, cabbage and pears all came from the market.  Bananas and pineapple from Lidl as they were on offer. We also like bread and each week bought a large chapatta (sp?) loaf from Mercadona (got a bargain on that, normally 1.39 but reduced to 1 euro - that's almost 2 euros saved out of the 700) a loaf of multi-grain each week and one loaf of Mediterranean bread (wholemeal with tomato, olive and oregano).  We also bought ham off the bone, some cold meats (salchichon, serrano and mortadella, all carved from the butchery counter and not prepacked).  Bacon, eggs.  Ran out of pepper, curry powder, tomato sauce, tomato puree, mayonnaise and aoli so had to buy some of that.  Plus rice, a couple of different types of pasta and coffee.  OH had to buy cereal and (another vice of mine) an ensaimada for breakfast each day.  Obviously things like milk on a regular basis.  Half a kilo of mature cheddar (good for toasted sandwiches), pack of Tierno Queso and some cheese spread.

6 bottles of Rioja Rosada from Lidl (and the OH still has 2 and half bottles left) and a dozen large cans of beer a week (in case anyone comes round, you understand - funnily enough, there's none of that left).  Cartons of orange juice, ice cream, Greek yogurts and so on.  Anyway, I think you get the picture.  We have breakfast,  light lunch (unless we are out this will be cold meats, bread, aoli, tomatoes and cheese) and a largish evening meal.  The only "English" stuff we bought was a large pork pie from Iceland, 2 tins of baked beans (and we only used one) and a pack of cheese biscuits.  The other biscuits (which I do like in the afternoon) were digestives and ginger nuts.  Also had to buy a bottle of olive oil and some wine vinegar. 

40 euros went into the car on petrol (at 1.42 a litre, 3 days later it was 1.37)

Other little things (and I kept the receipt from everything I bought) like a couple of birthday cards, an anniversay card and two puzzle books for the OH.  

And, really, that's it.  A pretty average and boring month.  We didn't need clothes, a new washing machine or a telly.  Apart from going out, we went to a couple of neighbours houses a few times and had neighbours round for drinks and snacks.  Nothing unusual, nothing out of the ordinary.  We shopped at Lidl for the few items I've mentioned, Consum, Mercadona and the markets.

So, how did my 700 euros fare?  I still have the sum of €162.60 left after all that.  €170 went on the fags, beer, wine, sundry items (the clothes horse/lock/garden centre, petrol etc) and €84 on eating out.  Total food for the month was around €300 with no scrimping or saving.

So, is it possible to live on 1,000 euros?  It certainly is.  Mind you, the summer season was over when I did this so things like water parks and so on weren't included but I doubt I'd have spent the 162.60 left on that.

 The 300 euros a month I put aside covers all my household bills.  They come to just over 3200 a year but also includes petrol so I upped it to 3600 a year to round it off.  No wood fire, all electric for both heating and aircon.  No need to travel far as we have everything within a short distance.  Of course, things like flying back to UK, holiday trips to Barcelona, Madrid or whatever are not included as I keep a slush fund for extras. Much the same as if my telly needed replacing.  Rubbish collection is included in the water bill and IBI.

Electric average - 96 a month (obviously more in the summer for aircon and Jan/Feb for heating) but a lot less in other months.  That's the biggest bill as it is around 1100 a year.

Paraffin.  40 euros to cover Nov and Dec and maybe March when it is just used to take the chill off.

IBI - 202 a year

Water - average 56 a quarter - 224 a year.

Road tax - 97 a year and ITV 42 every 2 years so 118 annually,.

House insurance 232 a year

Petrol 180 a year (not including the holiday trips which I budget for separately)

Community fees - 540 a year (was 480 but just had CCTV installed and retiling of swimming pools)

Internet and phone 24 a month so 288 a year.  Calls up to 200 minutes a month free so no extra.

Car Insurance - 320 a year

TV is free as I have a dish and Spanish TDT

Solicitors fees - 135 a year (they pay my taxes when due)

Income tax. nothing.  Army pension tax paid in UK and NHS pension plus wife's OAP under the threshold in Spain.

Bank charges - nothing.  Free debit card and no charges for transfers in.  No maintenace charges as pension is paid in regularly.

The 700 did not include these bills so the 1000 a month makes it fine.

Can't think of any more but I'm sure someone will remind me.  That lot comes to 3379 a year so budgeting 3600 is well within any little "extras".

 Bob, that certainly looks like hard work, but very useful for us "students".

Although I have made an anticipated budget for myself (see earlier) I will adjust it. Far better an actual than my assumed. Many thanks most helpful.

Totally agree with bobaol.We 've been living on a 1000 euro budget and find it quite easy,thats in the centre of Estepona CDS.As an aside bobaol I would be interested to know what beef roasting joint you order.

 amespana

As an aside bobaol I would be interested to know what beef roasting joint you order.

We have a Jumerca Gama shop near us with a marvellous range of meats.  There are about 7 or 8 different cuts of beef on display including rib roast and different joints.  We simply ask the lady behind the counter which is best for stews, best for curry, best for "rosbif" etc. and she steers us in the right direction.  The bit we got was the same as topside in UK.  

(now here's one for all you linguist types.  When I learnt Spanish years (and years) ago, beef was always "carne de vaca" and ternera was veal.  It would appear that ternera is now the word for beef of any description.  Has it changed or was I steered (pun intended) wrong?

Tamara I think I would expect your bills to be lower compared to Bob as he has calculated his figures for two. I also think you may not smoke but perhaps you may use an accountant.

Tamara I think I would expect your bills to be lower compared to Bob as he has calculated his figures for two. I also think you may not smoke but perhaps you may use an accountant.

 Bob - I'm so glad you wrote that about ternera!  It's been confusing me too!  I learned that it meant veal, I'm sure it USED to mean veal, but now on menus it seems to mean beef.  I thought it was just me!