How I Achieved Financial Freedom In Spain After Leaving America

Despite I am not a millionaire or wealthy, money doesn’t play a big role in my life, anymore.

I can’t believe it, but I’m a millionaire now. I never thought that would happen when I left America and moved to Spain four years ago.

Well, I am not.

No, I am not a millionaire or I need to be one in Spain.

The goal isn’t to get rich. Not just for me, but for many others that moved here. Spanish life is all about one mantra: living it up, and you can sense this everywhere you go. Here, wealth is translated into time. I’m a big believer because time is the most valuable currency you can have to be truly free.

Yes, I truly enjoy life in Andalusia, Spain because I have the luxury of time.

When I was living in the US, everything I did revolved around money, working more hours, or paying debts. When I got to Spain, all of that disappeared. Money isn’t always on my mind because it just doesn’t matter here-you only need $20k a year to live a comfortable life. Please remember I live in Andalucia, Spain. In Northern Spain, you may need more.

Savings

I am not a millionaire or wealthy, but finally, money doesn’t play a big role in my life. In 2001, I went to the United States to become financially independent, but I did not know how expensive it would be. Since day one, money was on my mind 24/7, even though I worked 40 plus hours a week for almost two decades.

When someone asked me how life was in the US, I answered: “there was no life, just work, sleep, and repeat. This is what I remember from living in the US.”

I was constantly worrying about money, paying bills, and working more. I always felt I wasn’t doing enough and I needed to hustle more. Yes, America is the Hustleland where you must always work to survive.

My spouse worked even longer hours than I did to keep us afloat. Our savings were dismal, despite our tremendous efforts (the only savings we received were thanks to my car accident where the insurance paid us a nice settlement).

Imagine; we were both nurses at top-notch hospitals who worked over 100 hours each week, but saving 15% or more of our income was impossible. I became burned out from the pressure and workaholism. I knew things couldn’t continue like this for much longer.

You are not rich simply because you don’t work hard enough, is a typical response I’ve heard from people in America. You are the failure, says Oprah, the bizarre pseudo-guru. You didn’t try hard enough:

“You are responsible for your life. You can’t keep blaming somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is really about moving on.“

by Oprah Gail Winfrey

I would like to shout at her:

“There are only so many hours in a week to work. I’m sorry, I’m not a hedge fund manager or a celebrity.”

I am sure you know that working in a service sector like nursing, teaching, or any other profession that involves providing services to others leaves you financially poor and burned out. Also, don’t get sick in America because then you’ll be in an even deeper financial hole.

Healthcare

Health plays a big role in our lives, and we are humans who get ill, eventually. You can never become financially free if you don’t have universal healthcare in the country. This is the biggest lesson I learned while working in the US. Everyone knows that number one reason for bankruptcies in the US.

Here is my recent true story:

My husband’s cousin got his Green Card a few years ago and now lives in Denver with his children and wife. His wife recently became sick, but she could not go to the hospital or doctor since her insurance had been canceled and a new policy hadn’t kicked in. Also, she does not know which HMO network documents she will receive in her new policy. She decided not to go to the hospital and hope for the best. She doesn’t want to spend 1000s of dollars later.

This is only possible in the United States, where you work long hours and are cursed if you become sick. This does not happen in Spain. When I went to ER in Spain, all I paid is zero.

Also, you may select from a range of healthcare plans through the country’s universal and private healthcare system if you pay social security. Every person pays 60 Euros per month, with everything covered if you choose private coverage. But universal healthcare insurance is covered by your social security. There are no copays or deductibles to pay for either of them.

Education

Spain offers a good public education system that you pay for with your tax money. The students do not need to raise funds and there are no long lists of supplies for the teacher to prepare each year.

The cost of university education is free in most of Europe, but you still pay a fee each year, which comes to about $800 per school year.

If you realize you don’t need to save for college, you feel immediate relief. At least we did, and because of it, we feel less financially strained, as we don’t have to pay for school or incur student debt.

Instead, we put money away for her and will invest in a small apartment (for her) when she goes to university.

Properties

I live in Andalusia, Spain and the price depends just like everywhere else on location.

You may still acquire property for a reasonable price in the village, which is 20 minutes away from Granada (which is stunningly lovely). A decent home might set you back anything from $25k to $120k, depending on the size of the property. The taxes on property in Spain are extremely modest; just few hundreds. Also, you will pay $30 per year if your water comes from the mountains.

But you may argue…

Perhaps even in Kansas or Roanoke, Virginia, properties are comparable in price. And, I agree with you. But I spent ten years living in Denver, Colorado, a liberal American city, and I was sick of xenophobia. I’m an eastern European with an accent, and anything away from the east or west coast (where real estate is simply out of reach) isn’t appealing to me, no matter how cheap it gets.

That is why, I never owned real estate in the US. I couldn’t afford to buy anything in a nice neighborhood or desirable location.

Hobbies

Hobbies are costly, and they’re especially prohibitive in the United States. I could never afford hobbies for myself or my daughter. Most of them are extremely expensive.

For example, if you want to take singing lessons in New York City, prepare to pay $100 per hour or more. Even the community college is prohibitively expensive for many families. And then, children have to join sports teams that cost money too.

People usually think about national parks when they consider the United States, but it’s not like Europe where you can go hiking and biking all day long in mountains and forests and pay no fee for this activity.

In the US, it’s expensive to go on a hike or bike ride. In Spain, you pay zero for mountain biking in the Sierra Nevada or Pyrenees mountains. Or you may enjoy walking through Spain’s national parks for free, picnicking on benches after having lunch at your local farmer’s market, and taking pictures of Iberian goats.

Also, we enjoy skiing, surfing, and horseback riding without going broke here. That matters.

Work

The United States has long been regarded as the land of opportunity, although that may no longer be true.

It was once.

Now, income levels are falling behind inflation. You’re just surviving no matter how much money you make.

Even if you work as a freelancer, you must earn at least $4,000 a month to get by. In Andalucia, Spain, the minimum amount required to live comfortably is $1,000.

Food and Clothes

Food is organic and cheap in Spain. We are blessed with plenty of sunshine and a variety of produce throughout the year. I described food and hospitality in this article, more in depth:

I rarely buy branded apparel or new clothing, instead preferring to scour the market for secondhand purchases. I have a few marvellous pieces of apparel, with the rest being outdated. And I’m proud to show it off.

Transportation

I had a tiny Toyota Aygo that was extremely thrifty, but I had an accident three months ago and it was totaled.

Now, I take the public bus to the city, and I adore it. It is always on time and goes at least once an hour, so I pay 1.23 Euro each way to Granada.

In the city, a bus ride costs 0.88 cents and lasts 60 minutes. One journey in a taxi costs 4 euros, which is reasonable. You may also walk about the city of Granada, which is also very easy on your feet. You can also just take a lovely stroll while appreciating ancient historical structures from the 10th century.

However, don’t be misled: we do not live in a state of luxury in Spain. And we didn’t in the United States, either. We disliked spending money on luxuries, but even necessities were pricey. And that is why I and my husband had money on our minds.

We refused to live like that, always worried about money. That is why we moved to Spain and became financially free in a sense we don’t have to think about the $$$.

Being financially free doesn’t mean having millions in the bank but to have a plenty of time to do whatever you want. And that is what we achieved.

Thank you for reading!