# Living budget



## tammy123 (Mar 27, 2008)

Would a budget of £1000 be enough for two people to live if we owned our house.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Whilst your question can be construed as " how long is a piece of string". - as lifestyle,healthcare requirements, area etc totally dictates budget- very generally speaking I believe with no rent and an income of £1000/€1400 you should be able to cope well.

I base that on our own calculations. Be prepared for some views to the contrary because as I have stated budget is very much down to individual lifestyle


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

I'm assuming you do mean 1000 pounds and not €1000.

As well as not having rent to pay, I think you've said in previous posts that one of you at least is a pensioner and you will both therefore qualify for an S1 giving you access to state healthcare, so you won't have to budget for private health insurance either.

The only thing I think you need to be really conscious of is the exchange rate. At the moment that 1000 pounds would give you an income of €1350-1400 which is certainly doable if you don't expect to be out wining and dining all the time or going on luxury holidays. However, having experienced it ourselves a few years back, you need to realise that the exchange rate could take a turn for the worse again in the future and your income could easily shrink considerably. If you have a comfortable sum put away for just such a rainy day (or a few rainy years as it might possibly turn out to be) then I'm sure you'd be OK.

As you're considering buying a property, might be a good idea to have running costs of whatever properties you're looking at very much in mind. Would you really want somewhere with very high community fees or IBI bills, do you really need a swimming pool, how will you heat the place in winter, etc.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

At current exchange rates, around 1380 euros a month, about 350 euros a week....depends on lifestyle as has been said.
Your electricity and water bills plus phone/internet could eat up 250 euros a month or more, depending on your house size and again lifestyle. 
I personally would feel more secure if I had a reasonable amount of saved capital, which you may well have. There are many unforeseen expenses you need to be able to cope with....repairs and replacements of domestic appliances, cars, house repairs and maintenance, insurances, new clothes and so on.
Having pets can be expensive...food, vets bills, insurances.
So the answer is yes, with savings, at current tax and exchange rates.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

It also depends on where you live, whether you need a car to do your shopping etc, how often and when you visit the UK (flights back for Christmas can cost a fortune). It's perfectly possible if you are careful, but as others have said, it's good to have a contingency fund for emergencies.

Personally I believe you can have a much better quality of life on £1,000 a month in Spain than in the UK, but it does depend on what sort of things you enjoy doing.


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## Anciana (Jul 14, 2014)

I would not buy a house for at least a year in order not to be trapped in a place/situation that might seem enticing to start with, but not necessarily in the long run.


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## stefig (Jul 14, 2015)

Alcalaina said:


> It also depends on where you live, whether you need a car to do your shopping etc, how often and when you visit the UK (flights back for Christmas can cost a fortune). It's perfectly possible if you are careful, but as others have said, it's good to have a contingency fund for emergencies.
> 
> Personally I believe you can have a much better quality of life on £1,000 a month in Spain than in the UK, but it does depend on what sort of things you enjoy doing.


Indeed. It's impossible for one person to survive on £1000 a month in most of the South East, let alone two!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Anciana said:


> I would not buy a house for at least a year in order not to be trapped in a place/situation that might seem enticing to start with, but not necessarily in the long run.


What excellent advice!! Ever since we sold all our properties and moved away from the UK to rented properties we've been told that we are 'putting our money in someone else's pocket'. Leaving aside of course that anyone with a mortgage is putting money into the pockets of financial institutions to pay for something that when finally paid for is worth less than the total amount paid over the years ...
If we had bought in Prague we might still be there waiting for a buyer...If we had bought the first place we moved into here we'd most probably be stuck waiting for a buyer and miserable as we found out it just wasn't for us...

We decided we preferred to invest our money from property sales and rent rather than buy. It was a carefully considered choice. It was a very sensible decision....for us. In a few years we plan to move from the house we've lived in for seven years now. One phone call to the removal company once we've found somewhere we like.

Once you've bought, that's it. You may regret that for all sorts of reasons. Best try before you buy.

Just a thought about needing more than a bare £1000 a month to live on....a couple of months ago I needed new tyres and a big repair on my car...over 700 euros. 
Dental care is expensive too....crowns and cosmetic work can cost 000s euros. 
You really do need some money in the bank too.


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

Yes, it's Sod's law if you are living on a fixed income and being careful lots of things go wrong at the same time.

It also depends on what income you have been used to. If you are living on that income in the UK then you should be fine. If you have been living on a higher income then it is difficult to cut. Although the pound/euro rate has improved it's best to do your sums for a fall to 1.10. If it goes the other way then it's a bonus.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

We did our sums assuming parity, something we said could never happen. We did our sums in August 2008. By December when we arrived it was...parity.
So to put it starkly, anyone on a fixed income of £1000 with no savings worth mentioning would have experienced a drop of over 200 euros in their purchasing power.
That 200 euros can be a huge sum to someone on a small pension income.
So I'd plan at parity.


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