Living life cheaply in France
You may be wondering if it’s possible to live in France, and if it’s possible to do it on a budget, let me tell you that it is more than possible and I’m a living example. Living costs in France aren’t very high as it is, and the minimum wage in France gives you more or less everything you need to live a basic life, pay for the bills and have leisure time. In fact I lived on only 480 euros a month for an entire year.
In this post, I will tell you how you too can live cheaply in France with steps that you can follow and tips to reduce your spending habits. I’m going to tell you how I lived on only 480 euros a month.
Plan your spending
This is the very first step and one that is key to your budgeting success if you don’t plan your spending the chances are you’re going to go overboard. Back when I earned only 480 euros a month I overspent because I wasn’t planning and I was eating out all the time. In fact I had an unruly addiction to subway. And trust me that is not a good spending habit. I spent at least 5 euros a day or 140 euros a month on something I didn’t need, in fact that money would have been better placed anywhere else. If you’re on a budget like this make sure that you cut any unneeded spending and that means cutting out that MacDonalds you have been waiting for. It also means not buying any clothes or spending loads of money on entertainment and parties. still, you can make small allowances for partying and buying clothes if you plan this beforehand.
Try and create a spreadsheet tracking all of your spending. And also a target spreadsheet, this spreadsheet will be the one that you aim to stick to and your tracking spreadsheet will help you reach your goals. Also, make sure you save some money too, this is important as any money you save will increase next months budget
Reduce unnecessary expenses
So you may be wondering what is unnecessary?
That new Gucci tee shirt, that designer bag, in fact anything designer if you’re only earning 480 euros a month you can not afford it. If you want to be buying designer clothing, go and get a job otherwise you’re going to need to cut this out. Also clothes are not an essential expense, especially if you already have clothes that you’re wearing. You do not need a massive wardrobe of different styles and even if you are that type of person please go and substitute the designer clothing for its unbranded counterpart. All that really matters is that it fits and looks good on you. It doesn’t need to be Hilfiger to look good on you it just needs to fit and go with your overall style, there’s no need to have all designer clothing trust me.
The importance of the weekly shop:
With this amount of money you can only shop once a week. And you’re going to have a set budget that you DO NOT go over. My weekly shopping budget this year was a meagre 20 euros a week. And with this budget I managed to live fine until now. so just know that it is possible. 80 euros a month is entirely feasible and I actually managed it so you have no excuse, unless for some reason you are addicted to the high life and in that case, it’s not going to be easy to adapt to this new pauper lifestyle. But here are some pointers for your weekly shop:
-Buy pasta it’s cheap
-Do not buy innocent fruit juice (buy the supermarket budget option )
Stay away from chocolate and snacks ( you don’t need them and they’re unhealthy )
Do not buy pre-made sandwiches (buy bread and sandwich ingredients this is a lot cheaper in the long run)
Choose the right property
If you have already bought in France this doesn’t matter but if you are considering renting this is an important read I will cover this briefly and maybe go into more detail in another post. But the essential with renting is that you rent a property with all costs included. This is the best thing to do because if you rent without costs included you will be hit with massive bills during the month and this will not feel good at all. If you opt for a co-habitation you can split internet fees if they aren’t included in the initial price and this reduces your overheads even more.
Be a mega stooge (optional but not recommended)
This is the option if you’re really struggling and I do not condone this AT ALL if you do the following things no one is going to want to know you and this isn’t an understatement by any means. So what do I mean by being a mega stooge?
Go and eat at your friends house all the time
Go to food banks (if you really need help this is really a last recourse)
I hope you have enjoyed this if you have any questions please let me know :D in the comments