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A Plentiful Life

Travel

Spain on a Budget

January 16, 2017

Spain on a Budget

As a frugalista I still want to travel and not let a small budget hold me back!  The challenge can Spain be done on a budget?  I think it can, when we went the Canadian dollar was $1.44 to one euro, not the best, but we still managed.

To keep it simple all amounts are in Canadian dollars.

Spain on a Budget

TRAVEL: $350 total per person

We had been talking about Spain for a while so were using our credit cards to collect points, which had huge savings as each flight only cost $150.

While in Spain we took both the train and bus to travel between cities.  This was interesting because there were a lot of savings in time and money by splitting the travel between both.  We didn’t buy a train pass since the cost was $356 and buying individually was less expensive.  It’s good to do a little research depending on where you are going.  For example to travel between San Sebastien and Bilbao on the bus was $12 Euros and 1 hour, on the train it was $34 Euros and 2 hours.  Total for travel between cities $184, a savings of $172 compared to the rail pass.

*TIP: Good thing to note if you take the Renfe between cities your local transfer (bus or subway) is free after your trip simply show your train ticket.

In cities we only took the subway a couple times, we did use the free transfer with Renfe to get a bus/subway after our train trips. Approximate spend for local transportation $16.

Spanish Food

FOOD: $22 per day/per person – including wine

Food is a tricky one, we tried to be as frugal as possible, but it was really inexpensive to eat out in Spain.  They have a lot of combos for breakfast and lunch.  For example at breakfast you could get a coffee with milk, juice and Spanish tortilla for $2 or lunch would be a 3 course meal for $10.  We also did buy food and have it at the apartment for inexpensive lunches, it was easy to pick up a loaf of bread, a jar of olives, tomato, avocado and prosciutto for $3.  Yes we probably spent around $800 over 17 days but it was totally worth it!  We were there to eat and drink wine!

ACCOMMODATIONS: $117 per day or $58 per person (this was the average at the end)

My goal was to keep the accommodations below $100 per day, I was close!  With our dollar being so low and accommodations in Spain a little on the high side, I think I did ok.  We did use Air B&B most of the time and this really helped.  When booking online the prices were in Canadian dollars so easy to figure out the total cost right on the spot.  We did also look at hostels but for a private room they charge you per person, so it was not that much cheaper.  At the end of the day we were able to have our own space for a little bit more.

TOTAL PER PERSON: $1726 including flight, accommodations, food, wine, and travel within Spain.  We each bought a couple souvenires but probably didn’t spend more than $100 each.

Spain Budget

If you are thinking of travelling but not sure if you can afford it, make a budget!  By creating a rough budget for your trip to have an idea of what you will spend and how much you will need to save prior to leaving.   If you wanted to go to Spain and had a spending budget similar to the one above you would have to save $150 per month until the end of the year, that’s doable!

Let me know about your great frugal travels below!

 

Affordable Travel budget Frugal Travel Frugal Travels Frugalista Spain Spain on a Budget Travel

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Tijana Popovc

A frugalista who hunts for great deals, try's her best to budget and navigates life as honestly as she can. I love thrift shopping, do it yourself projects, exploring the trails by our house, all the flowers, and spending time with the love of my life Mark.
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Last one, I swear! 🤭 Swipe to see the inside o Last one, I swear! 🤭

Swipe to see the inside of the rainbow cupcakes. Honestly, so easy, and they look great! Next time, I might reverse it and make rainbow icing and plain cupcakes, a bigger wow factor. BUT three year olds LOVE sprinkles, so this worked.

🌈✨️🧁
THREE! 🦄 🎉 🌈 I had a lot of fun with thi THREE! 🦄 🎉 🌈

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I used cookie cutters again, which makes for easy prep. I cut out all of the sandwich pieces in advance and froze the rice krispies oncee they were made. The rainbow cupcakes I baked in advance and froze, so it was easy to take them out and ice the day of the party.

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Super affordable decor: cookie cutters, $1.99 plants, and butterflies (I think this was a set of 50 for not that much). I also bought secondhand butterfly wings for the kids to wear. 

The cookie cutter adds a level of fun to the food and a bit of themed decor to the table. Butterflies were easy to add throughout our house. Plants ended up outside on our front stoop afterward. 

PS I won the balloon garland! That would be a big party splurge.
The kids have taken over the bath! I wanted to fin The kids have taken over the bath! I wanted to find a nice storage solution for my bath essentials that didn't take up a lot of room. To find what I needed, I headed to the kitchen section of my local Salvation Army thrift store. You might not think the kitchen area is where you'd find bath supplies, but I was looking for something different.

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Don't worry, the kids' toys are still there, I thrifted a small little basket to keep everything contained and in ONE corner.

#aplentifullifethrifted #thriftstorefinds #thrifted #thriftedbath #relaxingbath #momtime #selfcare #budgethome #affordabledecor
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01.23.2014 9 years ago, I went on a "coffee date" 01.23.2014

9 years ago, I went on a "coffee date" at 7 o'clock in the evening. He drank a coffee while I sipped tea, and we talked. He was funny, full of stories, and had a lovely energy about him plus a laugh to fill a room. Our coffee date moved up the street as we discussed our mutual love for nachos, so we went and found some. (Rip Foundation 😢)

We still love nachos, evening coffee dates (more like tea or sparkling water now), and our life has grown so much. 

I used to make jokes about our age difference, and Mark would always say, "I'm an old fart and you're young at heart." Which basically means we're the same age, or maybe Mark's actually older than me. 🤔

Photo: taken in our yard by Evie Lou with Poppy Ann directing in the background.
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