Drastic currency slide is making living in Spain expensive

Brits who own property in Spain
have seen their spending power reduced in the past few weeks as the value of
sterling falls against the euro. The Daily
Mail reports that ‘every day since the currency plunge began at the start
of the year more than £10 has been wiped off the annual income of a typical
expat living in Spain.’

Keep reading to learn more about
how the falling pound will affect you if you’re thinking of travelling to Spain
or buying a Spanish property.

Value of the pound has fallen 7 per cent since January 2013

The value of the pound has
dropped by 7 per
cent against the euro and U.S. dollar since January. And, after ratings
agency Moody’s recently downgraded the UK’s credit rating, it prompted a fresh
sell-off.

The Mail reports that in early January 2013, one pound would have got
you €1.24 or $1.63. Now, however, it stood at just €1.15, the lowest for 18
months, and $1.52, a near three-year low. In 2007, when the banking crisis began,
£1 would have got €1.43 and $2.04.

This fall has affected many
hundreds of thousands of Brits who rely on income and pensions paid in sterling
to survive. Nearly 400,000 Britons live in Spain, 152,000 live in France and
just under 30,000 live in Italy.

Currency specialists say the
average amount claimed by a British couple living in Spain is £628 a month. At
the start of 2013 this would have been equivalent to €778. Now, however, they
would receive just €722 – a drop of almost £50.

The Mail also reports that this fall in the value of sterling will also
affect anyone with a mortgage on a European home. In total, the estimated
500,000 Britons with an overseas mortgage in Europe will have to find an extra
£216 million a year.

Author :

Nick
Marr