Living abroad tips and hints for money savers

droopsnout

That's great! But you don't have to be as wrinkly as me, nor do you have to have a place abroad to join in.

Where do you think you might move to, if all goes well? Why would you like to go there?

Savvy_Sue

mommame wrote: »

Oh I read the thread every day and the ski thread as well,only 52 at the moment but love the banter and look forward to the time when I am able to join in and contribute.
I just love hearing everybody's tales etc.

momma, we never ask to see anyone's birth certificate on this board, and no-one minds where you live. Join in whenever you have anything to say!

superflygal

droopsnout wrote: »

Not leaving, no.

Looking for a smaller house with a bigger garden ... But it's selling that is the problem for the moment.

Glad you found some of the tips useful.

Whereabouts does your MIL live? We are in the south-west.

Hey droop,

She lives in a tiny village between Bordeaux and Biarritz.

Its beautiful down there, all that countryside and fresh air. Sigh.

She is actually an avid gardener and has a vegetable patch, but needs to adopt a more MSE approach!! She would prob throw over ripe produce out, instead of making soup etc.

Last year though, DH and I had some lovely corn on the cob for our BBQ that the local farmer just grows for cow food!!!! Lucky cows!

Thanks so much for these tips, any more please keep them coming. I wish I could join in as a resident, but we have years to go before we are lucky enough to live in a hot country.....

SFG x

droopsnout

Lucky lady! We probably live 2-3 hours from her then. We're between Agen and Toulouse.

My veggie patch is currently my pride and joy. Planted 50 leeks today.

At the end of last season we had tons of tomatoes and courgettes left over, so Mrs DS made loads of sauces for spag bol, etc.

Hope your MIL is able to put some of the ideas into practice, and, yes, you can count on folks here to chip in with other ideas as they occur.

I saved a few centimes today by buying a box of six of my favourite wine. Well, it's pay day and the exchange rate was better today! Will have to spin it out, of course. That was at my local Ecomarche. The stores in that group (same as Intermarche, Vetimarche, Bricomarche, etc) are free to buy local produce, and in this instance the wine is very local and very good, especially considering the price: six for 21€. I know I can buy much cheaper, but this wine is worth way more than 3,50€, in our biased opinion! The store owner is keen on his wines, and chooses them personally at the wineries.

Yes, the fields around here are full of maize, all for cattle or poultry feed. I think some may go to corn oil production, but not sure. It's the sunflowers I love most, though.

We are now into the season of wild flowers in the hedgerows and verges, and they are just lovely. April to June is a great time of year for nature's beauty.

Savvy_Sue

superflygal wrote: »

She is actually an avid gardener and has a vegetable patch, but needs to adopt a more MSE approach!! She would prob throw over ripe produce out, instead of making soup etc.

There's also the swapsies option - giving some of her produce to neighbours in exchange for what they have overproduced, or other services they might provide.

mommame

Thanks guys,hubby and I can't agree where yet as I want to go to either France or Spain but it must be semi rural,I love reading about 7DWs little house in Spain and yours droopsnout in France,wont have a lot to live on so must be able to grow some veg even if in containers and must be good amount of sun as it helps with my arthritis.
I am on biologic and systemic medications at the moment which costs £10,000 per year and know I am stuck here for as long as my health authority will keep funding it,so all just a pipe dream at the moment as I wouldn't get the funding any where else.
A girl can dream though huh

droopsnout

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

There's also the swapsies option - giving some of her produce to neighbours in exchange for what they have overproduced, or other services they might provide.

Very true. We've also found that just giving - with nothing expected in return - leads to great generosity from neighbours in all sorts of ways. For instance, I have been lucky enough for neighbours to spread the word about language lessons, which has led to a little extra income, and also they have bought the personalised baby blankets that Mrs DS makes, and shown them to friends.

I always find that a little kindness is more than repaid, if that's the right word.

droopsnout

mommame wrote: »

Thanks guys,hubby and I can't agree where yet as I want to go to either France or Spain but it must be semi rural,I love reading about 7DWs little house in Spain and yours droopsnout in France,wont have a lot to live on so must be able to grow some veg even if in containers and must be good amount of sun as it helps with my arthritis.
I am on biologic and systemic medications at the moment which costs £10,000 per year and know I am stuck here for as long as my health authority will keep funding it,so all just a pipe dream at the moment as I wouldn't get the funding any where else.
A girl can dream though huh

Where does Mr Momma want to go to live, then?

Where we are, it is VERY rural.

When you read your local paper in the UK, what's in it? Muggings, robberies, vandalism, shops closing down, jobs lost ...

One of the village ladies here recently won a giant Easter egg from one of the local bakers. Nice! But also newsworthy here. She had to get herself all dolled up and she put on her rather straw-like wig, slapped on the Polyfilla and finger paints in order for two newspapers to take her photo!

That's what gets in our local paper.

Yet there can be sophistication. At the tourist office where I do a few hours a week, we have an art gallery, which has recently been deliberately pushed upmarket. A proper opening is carried out for each exhibition, there is a special gallery email newsletter, and the website has a page devoted to the artist and his/her work. (If you want a peep, it's at http://www.tourisme-coeurdelomagne.fr/galerie-exposition.html. I'm working on an English translation of the whole site at the mo). At the opening of the latest exhibition, eight paintings were sold within minutes!

But I must admit, I still prefer both the naive simplicity and the shrewd manoeuvring which make up country life.

Mommame, you say you won't have much to live on, when the great day comes. Which raises the interesting question of just how much DO you need to have to survive? There are so many variables, aren't there? Size of house affects maintenance costs, local taxes and energy expenditure, for instance. Would there be a mortgage? Might there be a pool to maintain? Would there be lots of visitors from the UK coming to stay, which can be quite costly?

I would say that, ignoring the mortgage side, you probably need a minimum net income of about 1000€ a month to live in France, but that would not allow you to eat out or go to cinema or theatre, or have anything other than a very basic and short holiday somewhere. If anyone is interested, I'd be quite happy to post here what our regular bills are.

I'm sorry to read that you are (if I interpret correctly) on a long-term course of treatment, and I hope you are fully well very soon. But are you sure that the authorities in Spain or France would not fund your medication? If you receive Incapacity Benefit, you may be able to enjoy very good health cover in another country. If you haven't yet made any firm enquiries, you might like to have a read here, and even better, send an email with your info to the address at the bottom of the home page. (I'm not suggesting you ever take out a policy with them, nor endorsing them. I have no connection with them, and don't have any business with them, but I do know that they specialise in expat healthcare).

If nothing else, their input may keep your dream alive, and, you never know, bring its fulfilment nearer.

HappyinSpain

I'm in shock! Just come back from the local supermarket where they're selling tomatoes for 3.50 euros/kilo and red/green peppers for 3.75 euros! Can't understand this huge price increase as we live in one of the largest tomato and pepper growing regions of Spain. Really wished I hadnt missed the weekly market now. I will definitely be nurturing my tom, pepper and aubergine plants from now on.

droopsnout

The bananas I mentioned in a recent post as costing 1,99€ a kilo were on promo yesterday at 0,99€! I forgot to look at the tomatoes I was moaning about before.

Looking forward to getting my own toms and peppers in the ground soon. Bit chilly at night for them yet.