# Monthly Budget - Madrid



## JL321 (Mar 23, 2012)

This must have been discussed many times before. I apologize, but I didn't find much on the topic though.

I'm trying to figure out a monthly budget for life in Madrid. I know it can vary from very little to very much. I'm talking about a family of 3 (child is 5) that wants to live a comfortable, but not extravagant lifestyle. 

I haven't explored all the options in neighborhoods, but I assume a decent 2-bedroom flat in a decent area can be found for EUR 1000. I understand that an international school can run about EUR 1,000 too. I think food can be done for about EUR 400. Am I right about these things? How much should I budget for transportation, utilities, mobile phone, entertainment, etc?

Thanks.


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

Hi JL321. Is that 3, 2, 1, blastoff?  

Here's an excellent site I used to figure out cost of living in different places. This is an international site. You can pick the currency you want to view this in, so that it's easier to understand. I've set this up for you with USD and for the city of Madrid. They don't have schooling costs on here, but possibly other forum members may be able to help you out with that. So here it is:

Cost of Living in Madrid, Spain. Prices in Madrid. Updated Sep 2014


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## JL321 (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks AllHeart.
321 is the area code of where I call home (though the definition of home is very vague to me anymore!). And yes - that area code actually was assigned based on the idea of 3-2-1 blast off.

I know the Numbeo site and have used it for data in two different countries. However, after living in both of those countries I find that the numbers are not all that reliable. While they can give a general indication, reality can differ greatly. It also has shortcomings in that the categories defined are often not the right ones for many places. 

When I see known discrepancies (sometimes large ones) from places I have lived and know well it makes me doubt the data I am looking for.

My point is that from forums I've found it is possible to get far more meaningful inputs from people currently living in a city than from a site like Numbeo. When we made our last move some very helpful people gave invaluable advice. I'm hoping some good people here will be able to help again.

Thanks.


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

JL321 said:


> This must have been discussed many times before. I apologize, but I didn't find much on the topic though.
> 
> I'm trying to figure out a monthly budget for life in Madrid. I know it can vary from very little to very much. I'm talking about a family of 3 (child is 5) that wants to live a comfortable, but not extravagant lifestyle.
> 
> ...


These are good estimates to go on. An international school for a 5 year old at that age will probably be less than €1000/month (usually for 10 months as well) but when you add in books, school bus, extracurricular activities it probably all adds up to about €1000/month. ICS is probably the most expensive school in Madrid, and they publish their fees here: School Fees. As you can see they charge more than €1000/month once the child is over 5 but it is the very worst case scenario in terms of cost.

€1000/month will rent you a decent 2 bed flat.

€400/month on food is about right as well.

I think TV/mobile/internet packages are usually around €40/month (e.g. Ofertas Movistar Fusión. Descubre la mejor oferta combinada)

A monthly transport ticket for zone A (central Madrid) is €55/month.

A family of 3 can eat out for anything between €30 and €50. If you just pop down to the local bar and have some tapas to pick at, it'll be less.


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## JL321 (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks Chopera!
Very useful info.

I haven't done nearly enough homework yet, but I'm trying to decide at this point if it is worth it even. I know the potential salary range of a position and I'd like to understand just how far it will go.

A preliminary budget that I've come up with looks like this:

Rent - 1,000
Utilities - 150
Cable/Internet/Mobile phone - 50
International School - 1,000
Food - 400
Entertainment - 250
Transportation - 110
Misc - 200
Total:	3,160

It is very possible that I understand Spanish taxes all wrong, but based on my estimates a gross income of about 56,200 per annum would be required to break even. 

And the above budget assumes no cars, no trips home/vacation, no medical expenses, no major unforeseen costs, and no savings. 

Am I way off on something here?


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## Chopera (Apr 22, 2013)

JL321 said:


> Thanks Chopera!
> Very useful info.
> 
> I haven't done nearly enough homework yet, but I'm trying to decide at this point if it is worth it even. I know the potential salary range of a position and I'd like to understand just how far it will go.
> ...


Yes you should live quite comfortably with that. €56k pa is a high salary for one person by Madrid standards, but usually either both parents work or they reduce expenditure one way or another. 

BTW A 5 year old doesn't really need to go to an international school for linguistic reasons - they'd become sufficiently fluent in Spanish quickly enough to attend a Spanish school - but if you want your child to follow a particular curriculum an international school might be better. There are quite a few options worth exploring though.

Also I'm assuming that you'll be able to sort out some kind of work permit - that's usually the difficult part for non EU citizens


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## JL321 (Mar 23, 2012)

Thanks again Chopera!

If my budget makes sense and I have the taxes fairly close, then as I said the required salary needed to break even is about €56k pa. I understand that this is a relatively high salary by Madrid standards though so I was confused how it can work. I suppose the answers to that are as you said - both parents work "and" (probably not "or") they reduce expenditure one way or another. 

Language is an issue for our child. Long story - but we think it really is an issue.

I am also aware of the work permit issue, but for now I am assuming that it could be successfully sorted. The potential employer is aware of it too and we are still talking. But it also limits the ability for 2 salaries.

Thanks again.


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