# How Much £££



## offthewall (Nov 20, 2012)

Could a couple live on for a year in Spain ?

Daft question may be but just as an example. A couple in their 50's who owned a property, how much for a year for food, car, petrol, bills etc etc. Nothing fancy just a basic amount of money to live on for a year.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

offthewall said:


> Could a couple live on for a year in Spain ?
> 
> Daft question may be but just as an example. A couple in their 50's who owned a property, how much for a year for food, car, petrol, bills etc etc. Nothing fancy just a basic amount of money to live on for a year.


you wouldn't get very far with £££  ......€€€ would be better 


it largely depends where you actually live - both here & in the UK - but as a rule of thumb if you assume it will cost more or less the same you won't go far wrong - although you'll probably live _better _here & be able to afford little 'extras' such as eating out more often & the odd trip back to the UK


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

How long is a piece of string?? So much depends on lifestyle...

As well as fuel, utilities, groceries and so on there are costs such as insurances, clothing replacement, health care, car repairs, taxes and loads of other little and not so little things that crop up.

To be on the safe side I'd say around £1500 - £2000 a month.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Plus if you live in the Canaries it will be cheaper still, our Vat is 7%, and diesel still only €1.11 a litre.


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## offthewall (Nov 20, 2012)

what if you live mostly on Gin ?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

offthewall said:


> what if you live mostly on Gin ?



I think mrypg9 might know the answer to that one 











sorry m - couldn't resist


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I was amazed to discover when visiting Morrisons Gibraltar last week that Rives gin had gone up in price by £1!! Now £4.89....Outrageous.

Oddly, I've gone off G and T, could be because it's winter....Now on to Cava. 

Bucks Fizz for breakfast....a good start to the day.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We manage easily on €1700 per month which also includes rent...


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## stevelin (Apr 25, 2009)

We manage on about 1200 euro a month No rent eating out 2-3 times a week


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

€800 to €1000 monthly, this runs the car and pays for the running costs of two properties. Booze, meals out, holidays, clothing are extra.


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## Lolito (Aug 25, 2012)

We do 1200 per month including rent and car and food, bills, etc. We never paid over 1200 a month in the 20 months we´ve been here.... and that Euros, of course.


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## rangitoto (Apr 25, 2011)

we draw 170 euros per week thats about £140 with the exchange rate at the moment thats for food public transport drinks and a meal out once or twice a week
and still manage to keep a few euros back


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

As I a;ways say in reply to these questons, it depends entirely on your tastes,lifestyle and location...and above all how much you have to spend in the first place.

Some people spend less all inclusive than we spend on rent. That's because we chose to live in this area to be near to my son and dil's property...and because we like it.

If we moved inland or up the coast we'd be paying half what we pay now for a similar villa...I'm told that it's more expensive overall to live here than other places.

We certainly noticed the cost of a good meal out in Jimena was about 50% less than we would expect to pay in Estepona or Marbella.


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## carlnotts (Sep 13, 2012)

I was so surprised at the cost of some of the very basic items that you can pick up in the UK for a couple of quid, cheese graters the cheapest I saw was 8€, colanders 10€ knives of any description anywhere from 9€ for a paring knife to 17€ for a bread knife & these were only Carrrfour's basic range. Don't even get me started on kettles, there only seems to be one type available (that I didn't like) any other models out of the 3 they have available in stores are always sold out! I can see me taking a case full of kitchenalia over and setting up a stall on the side of the road, haha

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

carlnotts said:


> I was so surprised at the cost of some of the very basic items that you can pick up in the UK for a couple of quid, cheese graters the cheapest I saw was 8€, colanders 10€ knives of any description anywhere from 9€ for a paring knife to 17€ for a bread knife & these were only Carrrfour's basic range. Don't even get me started on kettles, there only seems to be one type available (that I didn't like) any other models out of the 3 they have available in stores are always sold out! I can see me taking a case full of kitchenalia over and setting up a stall on the side of the road, haha
> 
> Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum



Chinese bazarre shops sell most of those items very cheaply!! And there's usually at least one in most towns

Jo xxx


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

We have a choice of around 20 chinese shops. Recently bought a new toaster from Eroski which set us back an alarming €15, same one in UK is £32. In the two years we've been here we've noticed a remarkable drop in the prices of white goods, no doubt because of the economic crisis and they need to sell stuff, but, for example, we were looking for a tumble drier and found an Indesit and a Bosch both under €200. Then the sun came out and we didn't bother....


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

offthewall said:


> Could a couple live on for a year in Spain ?
> 
> Daft question may be but just as an example. A couple in their 50's who owned a property, how much for a year for food, car, petrol, bills etc etc. Nothing fancy just a basic amount of money to live on for a year.


I am 71, mother in law is 81 and she who must be obeyed is 53, we have two small dogs and a canary and we manage quite comfortably on €500 per month without stinting on anything that we want.


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## offthewall (Nov 20, 2012)

So, somewhere between 500 and 2000 Euros but it's seems to be cheaper if you have a mother in law with you. Is that right ??


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

A mil will stop you spending money on anything or at least not without very serious scolding. I haven't spoken to my mil for 18 months. Well, I don't like to interrupt her....


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

thrax said:


> A mil will stop you spending money on anything or at least not without very serious scolding. I haven't spoken to my mil for 18 months. Well, I don't like to interrupt her....


I guess I would be sent to Coventry by my UK politico mates but I just love Les Dawson's mother-in-law jokes...

One I like:

Took the mother-in-law to Madame Tussauds and the attendant said 'Keep her moving, sir, we're stock-taking'.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

My OH asked if her parents could come down for the weekend. I said what on earth for. She said, well, they've been on the roof for two weeks now.....


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