Living On a Budget: Auxiliar Style

A lovely day in Madrid to talk budgets.

I've had a lot of people back home, as well as people interested in teaching abroad in Spain, wonder how I'm able to live abroad and make ends meet.  Many who are not in the program have wondered if I get paid on time, how much I spend per month, and if the money I make is sufficient to live abroad in Spain.

In the Auxiliares government program you get paid  based on the location you work.  In Madrid you work 16 hours per week and make 1000€, while in the rest of Spain you work only 12 hours per week and make 700€.    As the capital, and largest city in Spain, Madrid is one of the most expensive cities to live here and with the Auxiliares you make more money to cover the extra living costs.

Though many may not believe it, in this program you can make more than enough money to live comfortably in Spain.  Especially if you find any of the abundant Private English classes.

To help give you an idea of how I live on my budget abroad, here's a breakdown of my monthly expenses:

Transportation:

My school isn't in the center of Madrid where I live, instead it's a city just outside of the city limits so I have to buy a monthly Abono/Transportation pass.  You can buy these Madrid monthly abonos in based on what zone you need to travel between (A, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, E1, E2) and your age: Joven, Normal, and Tercera Edad. Because my school is in the B1 zone I buy the monthly B1 Abono, and unfortunately (for me) because I'm over 23 I have to buy the Normal B1 abono.  The card costs me 63.70€ a month but covers any (trains, metro, or bus) travel in zones A and B1.

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Housing:

As I said before, I live in the center of Madrid.  And when I say center, I mean center, as in three minutes from Puerta del Sol.  My boyfriend and I share a one bedroom apartment together, and obviously the rent and utilities that come with it.  Since it's only a one bedroom apartment it's very cheap for us: 280€ (for each of us) per month for just the rent.As for utilities, we don't pay for our water only for electricity and internet.

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For internet and phone we each pay 17€, but this also includes a few hours of international calling to the USA per month.  [Hear that stateside friends!].  And for electricity it depends on the month and the amount we use.  In September and October it was around 11€ for each of us per month, in November and December it was closer to 25€ for each of us per month, and now that the cost of electricity has risen starting this month...we shall see...

Point being that my cost for housing in Madrid's center has ranged monthly from 308-322€.  Definitely not too shabby for living in the Country's capital.

Groceries:

Groceries in this household depends a lot on how much my boyfriend feels like eating in a sitting, which is usually a lot more than I do!  We still split all food costs 50/50 and usually the monthly cost is 300€ for the two of us, so around 150€ each one.  If you're wondering what grocery stores that we shop at, we generally go to the Hipercor of Cortes Ingles (which I've found far less expensive than everyone claims it to be) though sometimes I also go to the Ahorra Mas across the street from my school, or the Carrefour Express that's also near our apartment.

How can you not love the fresh food in Spain? source

Phone:

In Spain this doesn't have to be you! source

Paying for my cell phone here is so cheap that it's something I rarely think (and never worry) about it.  The thing about cell phone service in Spain compared to the USA is that purchasing the actual phone is generally much more expensive (even with a contract and you don't get free upgrades!) but the plans are usually way cheaper.

The cheapest unlocked smartphone I could find was 79€ but my monthly plan with Tuenti is only 10.89€ (now changing to 10.75€!).  I chose Tuenti because of this plan of 1GB of data and 75 minutes of calls per month, so far I haven't gone over either since being here since September.  The only thing is that when I pay monthly on my account they only accept payments in increments of 5€ so sometimes I only have to pay 10€ while others I pay 15€, so I always budget a full 15€.

Savings:

Like many other auxiliares in this program I'm a recent College graduate with student loans to pay off.  I didn't want to defer them but also didn't want to have to pay them while I was here, so I saved up enough money to pay for my loans for two years (seriously spent all last year saving) to prepare for if I was renewing.  In case I do want to stay in Spain for a third year, I have been saving 80€ a month that is for my loans to be transfered to my American bank account at some point this year.

Save those euros! source

General Spending:

This category is for all the general spending in a month, whether it be for: drinks, clothes shopping, having dinner out, or general miscellaneous purchases.  On average per month I spend around 200€ for all of the above, rarely going over my budget.  While Madrid may be more expensive than other cities in Spain, I've found that it's much cheaper to go out here than where I live (beers and wine for 1€, yes please).

You just have to know the different options and know the ofertas, for example: if you like shopping, know when the rebajas (sales) are during the year.  In the current post-Christmas rebajas for only 115€ I've bought a winter coat, a dress, two pairs of jeans, two blouses, and 1 t-shirt.  Score!


For those who want a clearer break-down, these are my monthly costs and the amount I have leftover:
My Average Monthly Income: (1000€ + private lessons)
63.70€ Abono
308-322€ Rent/Utilities
150€ Groceries
15€ Cell Phone
80€ Saving
200€ General Spending
816.70-830.70€ Total Expenses

Every month I clearly have plenty of euros leftover.  This money  is what I've been saving to use for future European travels, like when my Dad is coming to visit me (and Europe for the first time) in April!

If you want advice on any of the above processes like housing, abonos, and phones; read my post:

 "How-To's" for Moving to Spain: Advice from the First Year

And for those who what more ideas on budgets in Spain check out these helpful posts:

Young Adventuress: Spain Budget Breakdown

Oh No She Madridn't: Auxiliares de Conversación Budget in Madrid

How does your budget abroad differ from mine?  Do you have any questions about living costs in Spain with the Auxiliares program?

"How-To's" for Moving to Spain: Advice from the First Year

As a new auxiliar, and new arrival to Spain myself, there were many things I was unsure of when I first arrived in Madrid almost a month ago (seriously...a month already?!).  Being a chronic worrier I made sure to research as much as I could on what I would need to do, and how I would have to do it.  Luckily for me (and if you're doing the same program too), the Auxiliares de Conversación program is a very popular one and many past Auxiliars have out of the kindness of their hearts written a multitude of blog posts on how to deal with the different aspects of taking this leap of faith.

Don't forget to relax! source

Here are the blogs and blog posts that I used researching the program, learning more about life in Spain, and that I have used to help figure out how to jump through all the hoops you have to in order be settled.  Along with these resources I've added my own personal experience on the process.

Phone

Andalucía Bound-The 411 on Bringing your Phone to Spain

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This is an excellent post that explains how you can bring your American smart phone (if it's GSM capable and once it's unlocked) to Spain and then breaks down some of the most popular cell phone companies in Spain.  I also researched two other phone companies that my Spanish friends talked about: Pepephone and Tuenti Móvil.  Unfortunately when I looked for some of the plans she talked about I couldn't find them or they were more expensive then they had been.  My luck right?

The problem with getting a phone is that most normal contracts need you to be staying in Spain for at least 18 months, aka they have permanencia.  You can either have traditional pay-as-you-go or find a contract that is sin permanencia.  In the end I chose Tuenti with their plan that is: 11€ per month (with taxes), 1 GB of data, 75 minutes of calls (establishment of calls included), and texts are 8 cents.  After the 75 minutes is used it costs (with taxes) around 18 cents to connect and 4 cents per minutes after that.  It was one of the cheapest plans I could find and like most plans in Spain, receiving anything is free.  Plus most Spaniards just use the app Whats App.

My problem is that my normal smart phone from home didn't have a SIM so I took an old one someone gave me, unlocked it, and realized that not only was it not an Android but that it wasn't even wifi capable. UGH! So after hating myself for a day I sucked it up and purchased an unlocked phone online, which (hopefully) will be arriving soon.

Apartment

Vado a Spain-How to Find an Apartment in Any City in Spain
Oh No She Madridn't-How to Find an Apartment in Madrid

Our cute piso

For finding an apartment in Madrid I was very lucky.  I am living right near Sol with my boyfriend, the perfect location because I need to take the trains south to Getafe and he will start an internship just north.

I arrived September 4th around 10:00 am and before dinner that night we had found a piso in the location and budget we had wanted.  We had searched on multiple websites and found idealista to have the most selection of one-bedroom apartments.  Along with the appointments we had set up in advance from the site we called a few places we saw advertising open units on the street, generally this has seemed to be the most efficient way of finding an apartment.

Always make sure to see the apartment before you agree to live there or pay anything.  That is the only way whether or not you know you're getting the place you are planning on.  Don't be afraid to ask questions, look around, and take pictures before you make a decision.  But remember, Madrid is a big city and apartments go quickly.  Try not to take too long to decide if you like a place.  When we were touring our current apartment we saw that there were three other couples waiting to tour or wanting to make an appointment to tour the unit.  If we had waited then we wouldn't have our apartment.

Abono

Oh No She Madridn't-How to Get a Metro/Bus Pass (an Abono) [in Madrid]

The abono is a pass that covers the different forms of public transportation in the city where you'll be living.  For most auxiliars it is the cheapest way to commute to your schools multiple times per week.  The format for abonos has changed this past year, before the abono lasted for the actual calendar month, now they last for 30 days exactly. There are three types of abonos, but only two an auxiliar should worry about: abono joven if you are under 23 and abono normal if you are 23 and over.

New Abonos, source

When buying your abono for the first time the most important thing you need to know is which zone in Madrid you need.  The zone you pick should be the furthest zone out that you plan to travel to regularly, because the further the zone the higher the cost of the abono.  For example, Getafe is in zone B1 so I would purchase an abono for this zone.  Know that when you purchase an abono for one zone it also covers all the zones within it.  This means with an abono for zone B1 you are covered for the month in both B1 and A.  No need to get more than one zone.

Applying for your abono the first time is quite easy.  The best place is to do it online on the transporte website or make an appointment through the website at one of the offices..  You'll need a copy of your passport (or TIE if you have it), a carnet sized photo, and an address/phone number for the form (the form you can find online to fill out). The first time it will cost around 4 euro because you get the plastic card, but for the next months you just go to the kiosks for metro tickets to refill your card.

How to Empadronarse (In Madrid)

Spanish Sabores-How to Empardronarse in Madrid

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This is, what seems to be, a new requirement for getting one's NIE and TIE in Spain.  While it may seem a little daunting and complicated, it was actually one of the easiest things I had to do for the whole residency process.  Once you are living in an apartment, you get the padrón to legally register that you are living in a certain city.  The easiest way to get the padrón is to have a signed contract with your name in it.

With that you make in appointment online in the district you are living within and bring the filled out padrón form, your passport, and your contract.  If you don't have a contract with your name, then you either need to A) Bring someone who is in the contract/or has a padrón in your apartment B) Bring your landlord to vouch for you or C) Have the police come to your apartment to vouch that you live there. [Much easier to make sure you get a contract when you get your apartment in the first place.]

I have a signed contract with my name in it so I just took that with me to my appointment (along with my passport and the filled out form).  My appointment was at 2:00 pm, during the lunch break so I would have less people, and it was the easiest and quickest thing I have done so far.  I live near Sol so I made the appointment at the office on Calle Atocha, I arrived a little and told the front desk I had an appointment.  They gave me a number and I waited for maybe five minutes before they were ready to see me.  During the actual appointment they took all my information, corrected any information I had filled out incorrectly in the form, and then asked questions (confirming my address and why I needed the document).  It took no more than five minutes and I had my padrón and that was that.

Make sure to to get this done before your TIE appointment!  It's free and painless, and will save you a headache later!

TIE in Madrid (Update 12/18)

The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Entranjera) is the Foreign Identification Card that foreigner's need to legally live in Spain if they are not from the European Union. Before you can even apply for this card you need to apply for your NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero, Foreigner's Identificiation Number).Thanks to the auxiliares program I didn't need to file for my NIE on my own because the program took my information at the first orientation and applied for me.  

Back in October when the program had my NIE ready, I picked up my number and the date of my appointment from the auxiliares office and began preparing what I needed to get the physical card.  My TIE cita/appointment was back on the 21st of November at the Foreigner's Office in Aluche and despite all the horror stories I've read about, I had absolutely no problems.  Waiting in the line outside to submit my paperwork was the only semi-negative part I had.

To make your experience as painless as possible make sure you have all the documents you need taken care of beforehand, and like always make sure you have a copy of EVERYTHING.  For more information on what you need to bring, check out this website for what documents you need to bring to your TIE appointment.  If everything is all set at your appointment then they should tell you to return in 25 days to pick up the actual card (you'll need your actual passport and the sheet of paper they give at the end of your appointment).  I finally picked mine up the 18th of December sin problemas!  Talk about a relief!

GREAT Websites for Auxilares/Moving to Spain Information:

Spanish Sabores-Required Reading for Future English Teachers in Spain
Young Adventuress-Auxiliares de Conversación
Y Mucho Más
Sunshine and Siestas
Andalucía Bound
Oh No She Madridn't

I hope all this information helped, or will help, anybody else going through the of claiming residency and living in Madrid.

Feel free to comment on your experience with any of these process or ask any more questions you may have!