How to save money in Spain

Saving money, and getting discounts, were both something a lot of my Spanish friends were not worried about before the financial crisis hit. Now, it seems to be a major preoccupation in their lives. This Saturday, as I was enjoying cafe con leche with my friend Pepa, I received a text from another friend. She had gone to a local shopping center with her mom, and was now busy "raiding" a chain store. Both her and her mom was delighted to find that C and A had discoutns available up to 50% their summer clothing. Looking back on things, I seem to recall that C & A did exactly the same thing around the same time last year. Apparently, if the summer range is not selling by the end of June, discounts are applied to the stock.

My friend Pepa wanted to make the most of it, so we jumped in her car. She needed some new clothes for a cruise that she was going on, so this seemed like the ideal opportunity. Pulling up excitedly outside the shopping center, we parked and rushed inside. The discounts were still there and set to continue for the next week or so. According to one of the girls in the store, C and A had just finished one voucher promotion and was now moving on to the next. Thinking that I like to save money, I thought I would have a look around.

An hour later, I came up to the till with an armfull of clothes. I had roughly worked it out, but I was delighted to find that my purchases came to a measly €48. The same lot of clothing would have cost my about €102 the week before with a 10% discount. I went to pay, and as my transaction went through, the girl behind the till gave me a voucher of €10 to be used next time I spent €40.

As the sale is set to continue, Pepa and I will be back next weekend with our vouchers. After an obligatory visit to Eroski where we got a money off  voucher for lunch at a local sandwich place for €2 ( we paid €3.90 for a bocadillo with chicken breast, soft drink and fries) we happily went on our way home with our purchases. The offers are still on, so it might be a good idea to rush off to C&A if you want to save some money on clothes. 

Don't we all like saving a bit of money....