I´ve heard over
and over again elderly retired people saying to each other “We are going to
enjoy ourselves to the full now because we’ll soon be gone,” or “Enjoy yourselves
now, you’ve earned it!” I always admire and love to see the old folks happy and
enjoying themselves. They seem to be just enjoying spending the treasure that
they have stored up over their long hardworking years; wealth they have
accumulated and saved by making contributions to savings schemes and to pension
funds during all their working years.
But what about
those who have nothing or very little stored or saved; those who for one reason
or another were unable to make regular payments to pension funds or savings
schemes? I am thinking of those who were ill or unemployed or just didn’t earn
enough during their working years. Well, fortunately in the U.K., there is a
state pension fund from which the government will pay-out a very small pension,
just enough to cover basic living costs. Hopefully!
Living in Spain has
helped my husband and me a lot with our budget. We have found it to be a whole
lot cheaper to live here rather than in the U.K. or Ireland. Here´s how and
why:
1. Accommodation rentals are lower than in the U.K.
and a whole lot lower than in Ireland.
2. The cost of living is also cheaper.
3. Electricity is cheaper.
4. Gas is cheaper.
5. Water is free for us because we are renting
our apartment.
6. We do not pay Community charges, again
because we are renting our apartment.
Also, choosing the
right location for our accommodation contributes a lot too. Why? Because our
accommodation is very close to the town, everything is within easy reach, our
local church, health clinic, emergency clinic, banks, supermarkets, local
markets and bus depot are only a short walk away. And because of this we don’t
need a car! We walk to our local open market every Wednesday for fresh cheap
fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices and our local butcher is situated just
nearby.
Not only that, my
retired husband and I always enjoy strolling hand in hand along the paseo (sea
front) relishing the beautiful scenery and the glorious sunsets. Mind you we
are very fortunate because the sea front is just across the way from our apartment
(just 2 minutes’ walk).
That’s why they
say “Location! Location! Location!”
However if we need
to travel further afield we have available to us very reliable, comfortable and
air-conditioned local buses (which can take you all over Spain – if you so
desire). We just carefully plan the timings of our roundtrip route before
travelling and everything is fine. Additionally the fares are very reasonable
and my husband, being a pensioner, travels for half-price as well!
To save on
expenses, I have even learned how to cut my husbands hair, yes, it´s amazing
what skills you will learn when you have to live frugally. My husband’s hair
looked funny at first (ha! ha! ha!) because I found it difficult to do and the
cut hair was not even. But my husband didn´t mind - maybe he enjoyed me
fondling his hair for a long time (we were both happy anyway). Well practice
makes perfect and now I can cut his hair like a professional. That’s a great
saving because he doesn´t need to go to the barber shop anymore for expensive
haircuts. Wow.
We also learned general
practical ways to economise in our daily living and here are some tips that you
might find useful:
1. Using leftover food. Yes, especially if it is
good food, don´t throw it away. Freeze it. Small leftovers, or large ones, can
be utilised in so many new dishes or desserts and shouldn’t be wasted.
2. Go to bed early and switch off lights,
computers, TV, etc.; don’t leave electrical items on standby – this wastes
electric. We used to stay up late and go to bed long after midnight but as we
are now economising we go to bed much earlier, especially in winter, in order
to switch off the electric that bit sooner. Mind you we both agree with this
and we both enjoy it, as long as we don’t switch off our minds when all the
lights are off and we are in bed (ha! ha! ha!).
3. Switch off the water heater in summer time. Well
we don’t need hot water here because our summers are so hot and what we prefer
is a nice cool shower to keep our temperature down and help refresh us – we
don’t have air-conditioning you see.
4. Don’t eat in restaurants – they’re too
expensive. Eat at home instead. We can enjoy and eat delicious luxury food in
the comfort of our home without paying the restaurant prices. We have learned
the basics of food preparation and cooking so that we can use the cheaper cuts
in so many different and interesting ways.
5. Listen to and adopt suggestions from friends
around you. Take their advice on where to buy cheap but enjoyable wine, beers,
liquor. Yes, when we need to top up our booze cabinet once in a while, we look
for those drinks suggested by friends and we always find it worthwhile to do so.
6. Don’t forget
the second-hand shops. I never miss scouring the racks for good value clothes
and more often than not I come away with a real bargain. Recently I was able to
buy my husband a beautiful chunky knitted woollen cardigan, grey colour with
black trimmings, inner lining of polyester with two pockets outside and two
inside, for only 3.00 euro (about 4.00 U.S. dollars).
Yes, that’s us; by
following the suggestions listed above we have changed our lifestyle to help us
live frugally here in Spain. Of course there are many more practical ways that
are not included in this list, but I always suggest and emphasise to everybody that
we should always act sensibly in everything we do. Whatever we do and wherever
we are, the secret is to always treat one another with dignity and respect.
“Love conquers all
things and it is the greatest blessing of them all”.
Remember to always
do things with prayer!
This is our
simple, happy, healthy recipe for thrifty living in Spain (or anywhere).
God Bless!