Mac's Poll - Let's Vote

F Koetje said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 8:06 AM

If you owned your own house or apartment the costs would be between 1250 and 1500

DuFay said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 8:54 AM

Allowing for rent or mortgage of 500 Euros a month you can live reasonably well on 1500 euros a month & that includes running a 2.4 petrol car thats used daily but is bought & paid for & out 3-4 times a week & 2 meals a day its a good life & a lot cheaper than the UK & the Bonus is the Sunshine is free.

James said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 10:34 AM

I didnt see income tax to be taken into consideration. As a single person resident in Spain I am obliged to pay Spanish income tax, as resident you can not choose to pay income tax in UK. I receive a private uk pension of €1500 (approx) and state uk pension of €600 (approx). These are considered to be 2 separate incomes, not counted to be within €22000 yearly tax allowance. Last year I had to pay €3300 income tax. I have no mortgage and no debts, eg; no credit cards but still find I have to watch my everyday spending and I do not live an extravagant lifestyle by any means.
People wishing to retire here need to do their homework very carefully.

mac75 said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 10:41 AM

James you are very right, people need to do their homework before making the move.
In the first paragraph it mentions: how much money (after tax)? btw.

thanks for the comments

Annie said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 10:44 AM

Firstly, the tax is higher in Spain than in the UK especially for a single person. The personal allowance is lower so this needs to be borne in mind when working out how much you'll have left on which to live. Also any lump sum you take from your pension pot is taxable in Spain - it isn't in the UK.

Then, and especially if you own a property, you need to have enough to save so that you would be able cope with sudden emergencies. As an example, I had to find 2500€ last year when tree roots damaged my sewerage system.

Also bear in mind the fluctuating exchange rate. At the moment, it's pretty good. However, when I came to Spain it was over 1.5€ to the £. At one stage, that dropped to parity so my Spanish income dropped.

If you do not live near a large town, unlike in the UK, there aren't any bargain shops (apart from the Chinese and Domti). So household goods, suh as furniture, bed linen and lighting tend to be much dearer.

Electricity prices are very high although there are tariffs that will ease the burden a bit. Internet and telephone services also cost much more for a poorer service than in the UK.

However, day to day living is cheaper - food, running a car, house and "council" taxes cost less as do alcohol and cigarettes.

I am single, as a pensioner it costs me more to live in Spain than it did in the UK.

Unlike a lot of working people in Spain, UK pensioners cannot hide their income and it's normally paid in sterling. The exchange rate that the tax people use to calculate earnings is always higher than you've actually achieved during the year.

It's important to bear all these things in mind when working out what your disposible income will be.
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james said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 10:44 AM

Sorry. Must admit I didnt read the article correctly. had a senior moment........again, must be the sun! Lol!

James said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 10:52 AM

Annie I agree. The things you mention need to be taken into account and people dont always think of taxes, exchange rates or healthcare costs, especially if they retire before the age of 65

harddunby said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 10:53 AM

Like so many I lost 50K over property. To remove my affairs legally was not easy. People who retire there have to admit it may be there last hello. It's not like Coranation Street and there are no welcoming home parties as unlike Sub Sahara people you are put strait into the "made yourself deliberately homeless". Such is your home country today.

matmat said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 11:02 AM

We live on our joint state pension, 1450€ and try to keep our small private pension for small luxuries. We own our villa and do not have a mortgage, however water bills are high as we have a typical gravel covered garden and a pool At the moment we have extra expenditure tnat entails car park fees at. Morales hospital. Murcia as I have cancer and have to be at the day hospital three times a week plus a monthly visit to. Cartegena. The fess there are small but at morales, we are usually there for four to five hours, each time the fee is in
excess of 15.
I think dental fees are slightly less than the uk my husband goes everty two months for a check up, if nothing is wrong the fee is 45€
We eat well and love spanish food, the weekly market provides fresh fruit and vegetables and the local butcher is generous.
We live in the mountains so we have added heating costs, we had a pellet burner insert fire fitted last winter and burn on an average of 3/4 bags a week at 4,50€ a bag from november through to march. We have gas central heating but it was costing us 60€ a week to use it.
We have to pay the 4/10%towards our pres riptions as do the spanish but one of mine is actually 186€per month of which I pay only 4,50i presume because my condition is life thretening.
One should keep an emergency fund for funeral and tax expenses, not asubject any of us want to think about but who knows whats around the corner? I would like to change my glasses but as they are variable focal and tinted, I know I am going to pay 750€plus and somehow keep putting it off.
Life in general is goos and easier for us,we ru. A nissan jute three years old well serviced and reliable do not have cable tv but would be lost witnout my tablet and laptop,i have a naughty habit of buying good shoes and hubby likes his wine and g&t,two dogs keep us active and thiervet fees are not so bad fees and feeding amount to about400€a year, one of our luxuries.we pay our bills by direct debit and have switched to a new supplier for electricity as its much cheper so we have no un expected big bills arriving.one thing I de begrudge is the bank fees, they charge for everything. I have asmall account in a uk bank for which there are no charges..
One other thing thats important is to have a legal will in place it safe guars your assets especially between couples. Hope this has been of some help.mat

maureen anthony said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 11:04 AM

There are highs (taxes electricity etc) there are lows as I find the cost of living cheaper than the UK, however it is all about lifestyle the pace of living is slower the weather much better yes we do get rain and when we do it hammers down but it has never stopped us from going out for tapas. It takes a while to get used to the manana attitude but when you do your whole life changes for the better, especially health wise.
It is your choice - the rain the cold and the cost of living or the cost of living and the sun to warm all of our old bones. I know which I chose.

james said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 11:15 AM

Exactly Maureen Anthony! I have no intention or desire to return to the uk, I love it here, power cuts, mañana syndrome, spanish drivers and parking taken into account!!!!

james said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 11:24 AM

I didnt mean to start waffeling (is that how you spell it) on. But I have learned one thing the hard way, that is to pay ALL your town hall bills, IBI, Basura, car tax, vado permanente etc. by direct debit because if you dont pay by direct debit and happen to be late or miss a payment, you then lose ALL of your discounts eg; 60% discount on IBI is a lot!!!
Also one very important thing we Brits are bad at, LEARN SPANISH or at least try!

james said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 11:42 AM

Me again! For Matmat and anyone else interested re. bank charges. Banco Sabadell do an "Expansion Account" there are NO charges as long as you pay in €800 per month. You also get 3% back on direct debits. I use a free transfer service they offer to transfer money (€800) from my UK pension paid into my UK bank to my Banco Sabadell Account. The exchange rate is always very good and the transfer is done the same day.

wodger said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 11:49 AM

Don't forget Flights/Ferries if you need to get back once or twice a year

sioux said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 2:08 PM

Is there not new law where one can use one's own (any EU country) country's bank in Spain,so no need for Spanish bank account any more?

H V Petty Jr said:
Saturday, April 4, 2015 @ 5:09 PM

Uk Govt pensions are taxed at source, no way out. Uk State pensions can be paid free of UK tax but are taxable in Spain. Old law said no pension can be taxed twice. New law says all pensions are to be declared in Spain, taxed or not. The Spanish tax authorities then combine the totals of all pensions to arrive at a new rate of tax. They then deduct your taxed pensions. The belief is that this way you are not taxed twice on any pension already taxed. Who are they trying to kid !!!!. This is CHICANERY in anybody's language.

bapcav said:
Sunday, April 5, 2015 @ 5:44 PM

I own my own house and live alone. My expenditure for April to April ( including four trips back to the U.K. ) was 8,000 euros. So, if I paid 6,000 in rent, my total expenditure would be 14,000. Couldn´t live on that in the U.K.

Martin GJ said:
Wednesday, April 8, 2015 @ 11:17 PM

1. Only what is coming into Spain can be taxed here. So one can leave chunks in original country and not transfer.
One can than buy in the original country and ship it within EU there is no import duty. A credit card goes a long way as well.
2. Cost of living highly depends on where one chooses to live.
Here in rural Galicia if you own your house 1K is more than enough to live on very very comfortable with 2 persons.
Martin (lifeinGalicia)

Sara said:
Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 5:59 AM

I have a private pension and when I got my state pension in the uk - it was lumped with my private pension -and my tax bill went up!! - so I now get my state pension taxed in Spain - and I don't pay any tax on it. I got a nice rebate from the UK - so sort your state pension out and get that taxed in Spain - can't move my private one because that's a government one. Still have both my pensions paid in to a UK bank - but might move my state one out here - because all your banking is free if you do - and I'll always need some euros here. We live very well on about 1250 euros a month - but we own our property - and we don't smoke - we eat out whenever we feel like it (once/twice a week) - go on trips etc. Have 2 cars - have just replaced our main car with a brand new one. We have worked out that it is much better living in Spain financially. But we've worked hard all our lives - got reasonable savings and pensions - so we're now reaping the benefits. However, it all depends on the type of person you are as to whether Spain is better. We're not extravagant, we've only ever spent what we can afford - and we enjoy doing things that cost nothing - ie walking in the mountains in the beautiful sunshine. Viva Espana!!!

Natalie said:
Tuesday, June 14, 2016 @ 4:47 AM

Can somebody from US comment on their retirement in Spain cost wise ?

Kathie martin said:
Friday, March 31, 2017 @ 7:20 PM

Hi, we are thinking of buying in Alicante a 2/3 bed villa with pool cash as we wish to retire. Can we live comfortably on €17000 per year. Any help would be appreciated.