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Priscilla wrote:

Hello everyone,

Did you plan your budget before your move to Greece? If so, how did you go about it?

How do you save money in your day to day life? Do you find there are any areas where you can't cut costs?

Do you have any tips about saving money in Greece? For example, getting the best deals on accommodation, grocery shopping and dining out, the best value transportation, etc..

Are there any apps or websites that have helped you to save money?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Priscilla

Try xrysh eykairia website for accommodation you can find great deals there for renting house and buying anything you can imagine.

The best advice I have is that you copy the Greeks. They have had to deal with some big-time austerity, which is a euphemism for doing without. Most of us in the country districts, are part time vegetarians, meat being expensive, and not very good.
If you want to save money, become a home bird, and enjoy some of those forgotten things from the past, like reading or even writing. Watch those telephone calls lasting ten minutes, and get emailing instead. TV on the whole is rubbish, but with a good IT service, you can get all sorts of foreign programs, and your landline is usually free, so take advantage of that, and put your mobile away.
I have no problem with these restrictions - being an oldie - but instead of going to expensive joints, ***

Patrik,some great advice there.Find things to do that dont involve needing money,or very little.my husband and I used to have a little to spare each month for a cheap lunch/meal out occasionally,buy some clothes-non expensive,have a coffee down Monasteraki but thats all over now.Its hardly possible to make it each month let alone "save money".my husbands deductions are taken at source from his employer and there is very little take home after that.He pays the hefty normal tax then they take a Solidarity tax,then they take a Welfare tax and after he submits his tax papers around this time they demand an extra Solidarity tax to be paid in three doses by the end of November,as well as Property tax on two houses to be paid by end January..so life has become too difficult and all we can do is pull back.We go to our country house each week for a few days and remind ourselves that its impossible to sell it so we must just enjoy being in the countryside with the mountains and sea.We are at least able to leave the city without paying for a hotel.But this is a world wide problem and I read a great article the other day that said..people are working full out,a couple bringing home two wages and still like us they cannot make the month.That seems to be the norm for many.Greece does have lovely fresh foods from the street markets and if you go towards the end you will find it even cheaper.But other foods are expensive.You will find nice free- range eggs out of the city which will be fairly cheap and people selling veg and fruit on the roadsides.In these times we must go to different stores to buy where you see" buy one get one free"leg work is required.I see in some states of America that people are leaving in their thousands if they can because the local government are hiking the taxes to an insane rate whilst cutting all social care to the bone,no street lights etc..they are basically bankrupt.And this I believe will be the norm.The state water companies are being sold off around Greece which will entail larger bills to us all.Saving is out of the question and ever more shall be so.

Dear Concertina,
We sometimes get used to complaining as an automatic response. It is also assumed that any Brit living Greece, must be an eccentric millionaire. I am 20% worse off since the Brexit, and although I am a writer, much of my time is spent on promotion, and some months, I sell few books at all.
The Balkan News Magazine, is an opportunity for me to confirm to the world that I am still here, and you must do the same in your way.
Incidentally, buying cheap food in the provinces might work for you, but when they see me coming, the price goes up. Hurray for supermarkets!
BR
Patrick

Patrick I have just now been looking at the Balkan News magazine,isnt it great,great reading,what about Charles,he says some wonderful things about our planet and Transylvania,his guest house was sooo lovely,what a beautiful part of the world,needs to be spared destruction from humans.Im really enjoying looking at that,Im looking at that instead of preparing food ha,reading about that composer.I love it.THANKS

Just picking up on one point from this thread. The site for looking for property appears to be an app, in Greek. Is there anything in English? Our love of the county hasn't yet extended to mastering the language unfortunately