# Living on 1000 euro



## tammy123 (Mar 27, 2008)

Could you live on an income of 1000 euro a month? We would be renting out our property in the UK. So the rental in the UK would cover the villa rental in Spain. We are looking at the Arboleas area to move to so the rentals are quite cheap there. It would be a 3 bedroomed villa with pool, which we would maintain ourselves so no pool cleaner!!

Many thanks


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## JulyB (Jul 18, 2011)

Not sure if you might not be a bit cramped. And problems would occur if it rained and the money got all soggy.

Kidding aside, how many of you are there, do you have hobbies/pets/kids/a car... I'd assume there would be a bunch of variables.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

My advice is never to cut things too tight, because you never know what's just around the corner.


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

I agree, if your UK tenants default for a month or two or worse this will make a huge dent in your income which you will not be able to make up. I would have an emergency fund if possible.


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## warrentalbot (Jan 26, 2017)

*Yes, it is possible....BUT*

The very short answer is it is absolutely possible. Our first year in Spain we spent just over €12,000. We love to cook our own meals, but it still gave us plenty to enjoy tapas out in the village. 

The big caveat is we had no mortgage or rent payments as our house is fully paid for, thus the expenses were for eating, utilities, and a enjoying life. We also have not had a mobile phone for years and drove sparingly since we live in the village and walk everywhere. 

At a minimum you will need to factor in utilities, which are likely to be at least €150/month (gas, electricity, Internet, etc). If you have mobile phones you can expect that to be over €200 as a base.

While food/drink in Spain is considerably cheaper than other parts of Europe and the US, it still can quickly add up depending on where you eat (restaurants vs. bars vs cooking at home). Shopping and cooking will help you stay on budget and enjoy tapas a couple times a week as it is the best way to enjoy the culture and get to know the community. For most of us I would say this is likely to be your biggest expense.

Insurance will of course be another expense (car, renters, etc) to consider and could eat up another bit of your funds. 

Finally, there are the taxes. Assuming you are planning to be a resident of Spain this will be a consideration which is covered in far more detail in some great posts here in the community. Regardless, this will reduce the €1,000.

As JulyB mentioned, there are a lot of variables to consider and to see if this will work for you. Given you are not planning to live in a tent near the beach (which would make it far more plausible) there are expenses which will rapidly make the viability more challenging.

Best of luck.

Warren


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

When we came here three years ago the main principle we stuck by was €1 =€1. 

If you are relying on rent from a U.K. home then you need to take into account fluctuations in the exchange rate and at the moment who knows where that's all going, so best to be cautious. 

We own our house outright, and we live in one of the cheaper regions in Spain. 

When you ar calculating costs it's so very important to include everything.

Fixed costs, car, Petrol, taxes, gestor for tax returns if using, gas, electricity,a for us it's also having New put aside for new batteries and panels for our solar system, new water pumps if required, new depositos, when our car dies, we have funds put away for a newish one. Because here, if your not working it's hard to "find" that extra money

Then you have food, fun clothes, if you go to the hairdressers 

So after a long warble .....sorry..... it's all very dependent on what you expect to do and what you are willing to sacrifice. 
My husband, who having been self employed for over thirty five years, is very aware of accounts and budgeting. Since we have been here, ( because we are on a very small income plus savings) has written every single thing we have ever spent money on, down to a the odd coffee when out, and I know some people have laughed at him, thinking he is penny pinching but his biggest fear was not having enough money, no point in living the dream if you have to cut that dream to the bone. He knows exactly where we stand, year one we saved money from that year, that money was then allocated to the future new car pot. 

Budget budget budget. No nasty surprises and if there are you'll not be shocked

Best wishes


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

tammy123 said:


> Could you live on an income of 1000 euro a month? We would be renting out our property in the UK. So the rental in the UK would cover the villa rental in Spain. We are looking at the Arboleas area to move to so the rentals are quite cheap there. It would be a 3 bedroomed villa with pool, which we would maintain ourselves so no pool cleaner!!
> 
> Many thanks


Don't forget the tax and maintenance costs of your UK property. Don't forget that exchange rates fluctuate, that tenants may default on rent, that you need to factor in a host of variables depending on your hoped-for lifestyle. Then you need to plan for life's contingencies - car repairs, washing machine breakdown, dentists bills and so on.
We have to fork out around 1500 euros a month before anyone eats in our house - we're two people and two dogs. Rent, utilities, pool and garden maintenance - we have a big garden because of our two big dogs.
But that's our choice, we can downsize if money got tight.
Like MegsMum we planned on parity of £ euro when considering a move although the actual rate in June 2008 was £1 to 1.22 euros.....when we got here in December 2008 the rate was...£1 to 1 euro...
The chief point about renting is that you have mobility. If money gets tight you can move somewhere smaller and cheaper.
But I do think 1000 euros is a bit on the low side, considering we don't know what will happen with health care etc. post-Brexit.
There are though folk who will tell you they lead very contented lives on less. Ultimately it's down to expectations.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Hi Tammy,

Is that €1000 for two people, to cover food, transport, internet, electricity, socialising, dentists etc - i.e. everything except rent?

It might be theoretically possible but I certainly wouldn't recommend it.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

We did it for 8 years after we first moved here, until our pensions became payable. Well, I say we did in that it covered all our day to day outgoings, including paying for private medical insurance for 6 of those years. However, we also had money in the bank which we could call on in case of having to replace an expensive item of household equipment or house repairs (we own our house), and also spent about 2k sterling each year on hoiiday trips within Spain (3 or 4 times a year) plus 2 trips a year back to the UK for me (OH doesn't want to go). We didn't HAVE to spend that money, but life would have been more mundane without it.

Our house is cheap to run, we have a low electricity potencia as we use gas for cooking and nearly all our heating, and don't have air conditioning or a pool. For a villa with pool (and maybe an all-electric kitchen?) the OP's utility bills would be substantially higher than ours. We also don't have a car, don't need one where we live, so none of those expenses to worry about. We actually find it cheaper to have only PAYG mobiles than having a landline and paying line rental, we are not heavy phone users, and we have a cheap internet supplier - we only pay €18 per month for 30mb unlimited broadband.

We did know, however, that once the pensions came into play we'd have quite a bit more income, so we wouldn't be tied to that budget for ever.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Another thing to bear in mind is that we didn't have to pay Spanish income tax during those 8 years as we were living on savings. On the same amount in pension income (unless they are Crown pensions) there would be tax to pay, but possibly not if it's for a couple and they submit a joint tax return.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

tammy123 said:


> Could you live on an income of 1000 euro a month? We would be renting out our property in the UK. So the rental in the UK would cover the villa rental in Spain. We are looking at the Arboleas area to move to so the rentals are quite cheap there. It would be a 3 bedroomed villa with pool, which we would maintain ourselves so no pool cleaner!!
> 
> Many thanks


You don't say how old you are. If you are in receipt of UK OAP then (at the moment) you can apply to DWP for a Form S1 which will cover your healthcare needs to satisfy the Spanish authorities that your healthcare needs are taken care of. If the foregoing does not apply, you will need healthcare insurance providing full cover (no co-pay) and you will need to increase your income to cover the requirements for registering on the Foreigners' Register (required within 90 days of arrival if you are going to live in Spain) of 600-650 € per month per person - you are at liberty to leave the country within the 90 days to reset the clock and re-enter but that costs money as well. You will not be able to use that method to avoid being a tax resident which will mean paying tax on your world-wide income if you are here for more than 182 days in a tax year (Jan - Dec) because it is cumulative.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Just a thought - if this €1,000 is for two people, it presumably wouldn't be considered enough to live on when applying for residency. Aren't they asking for at least €600 per person plus health cover?


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Alcalaina said:


> Just a thought - if this €1,000 is for two people, it presumably wouldn't be considered enough to live on when applying for residency. Aren't they asking for at least €600 per person plus health cover?


Didn't someone say a while back that they'd been asked for a minimum of €700 per person, which would bring it into line with the increased Spanish minimum wage which went up at the beginning of the year?

But you're right, €1000 for two people wouldn't be enough for registration purposes. We didn't have that complication when we arrived.


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## tammy123 (Mar 27, 2008)

There is just the 2 of us. My partner retired a year ago and has a pension altogether of 1000.00 euro a month at todays exchange rate. I get my pension in just over 4 years time and will get around 800.00 euro a month. My house in the UK will more than cover the rent of a a villa. We expect we will go out for a couple of drinks or a coffee and tapas 2 or 3 times a week, lunchtime or evening. We certainly don't expect to be going out for meals all the time. We enjoy the simple and laid back style of living. My partner did live in Xabia for 3 years about 10 years ago and I have lived in Cyprus for a couple of years.


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## Roy C (Sep 29, 2012)

When you combine the 1K euro with the rental income you shouldn't have a problem with meeting the requirements for residency.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

When we first moved here, 8 years ago, the three of us (no dogs then) managed quite well on my OAP which was about 700 € but our house was paid for and we had (still have) a reasonably economical vehicle (Berlingo 53 m.p.g.)


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

tammy123 said:


> There is just the 2 of us. My partner retired a year ago and has a pension altogether of 1000.00 euro a month at todays exchange rate. I get my pension in just over 4 years time and will get around 800.00 euro a month. My house in the UK will more than cover the rent of a a villa. We expect we will go out for a couple of drinks or a coffee and tapas 2 or 3 times a week, lunchtime or evening. We certainly don't expect to be going out for meals all the time. We enjoy the simple and laid back style of living. My partner did live in Xabia for 3 years about 10 years ago and I have lived in Cyprus for a couple of years.


As you will be getting the extra pension income in just over 4 years' time I'd say you should be fine, then. It might not be a nice prospect to think about, but do consider if one of you would be able to manage on their income alone in the event of bereavement.

You say your partner retired a year ago - are they in receipt of the UK state pension? If yes, and you were married, then you would be entitled to an S1 form covering you for Spanish state healthcare until such time as you qualify in your own right (under current pre-Brexit rules, that is). However, this does not apply in the case of cohabiting couples.


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

In the event of bereavement if you husband is a UK state pensioner you would (at the moment) be entitled to bereavement payments of a lump sum and monthly payments for 1 year which would help as you are not a pensioner.
However, the lump sum would be swallowed by funeral costs which run into thousands.
Best of luck.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

pedro6 said:


> In the event of bereavement if you husband is a UK state pensioner you would (at the moment) be entitled to bereavement payments of a lump sum and monthly payments for 1 year which would help as you are not a pensioner.
> However, the lump sum would be swallowed by *funeral costs which run into thousands.*
> Best of luck.


Not in Spain they don't. We dealt with someone (Brit) recently who had very little money and we had his cremation (he didn't want any fuss, pomp or circumstance nor church service) for 1300€. That was the second Brit we'd had to deal with.


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

that is cheap, I went to three funerals last year and one wedding! all the funerals cost about 4k.
I did arrange the bereavement payment and years payment for the widow of one of the deceased.


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## Megsmum (Sep 9, 2012)

My mothers funeral, last year, in the U.K. came to £2200

Depends what type of funeral you have


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## pedro6 (Aug 4, 2016)

the bereavement payment is 2k sterling so if you can get a cheap Spanish funeral you may be lucky and have some money left over.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

baldilocks said:


> Not in Spain they don't. We dealt with someone (Brit) recently who had very little money and we had his cremation (he didn't want any fuss, pomp or circumstance nor church service) for 1300€. That was the second Brit we'd had to deal with.


I think I'll move to Jaen then, when the time comes. The going rate at the tanatorio is €4k here and they won't issue the death certificate till you've paid it!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Alcalaina said:


> I think I'll move to Jaen then, when the time comes. The going rate at the tanatorio is €4k here and they won't issue the death certificate till you've paid it!


Same here

& forget issuing the death cert - they won't do the cremation until you've paid.


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## Gran Erry-Bredd (Nov 1, 2016)

And how much does a spade cost ? Funny how this thread started as a question about the cost of living. :rip:


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Getting cheaper all the time .............. Cheap coffin (free premium upgrade) from Coffin Company for £99 + £95 P+P - HotUKDeals


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## Isobella (Oct 16, 2014)

We went to an expat funeral last year, CDS. Very basic cremation,€ 5200. I understand the cost was higher due to keeping the body whilst people like us and relatives made travel arrangements. 

Getting back to budget topic. It is Sod's law that if living under a budget something will bust it. Washer/dishwasher packs in. Car repairs, vet fees, dental problems etc. There needs to be a reserve fund wherever you are.

Another thing is inflation, 3% according to Spanish media. Currency fluctuations etc.


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