6 Ways Moving to Spain Can Help You Save Money
Craving warm, sunny days, tapas by the beach, whitewashed buildings, and spectacular sunsets? You’re promised all that and more on a holiday to Spain—but what if one or two weeks in this European paradise just doesn’t feel long enough? If you’re getting serious about the idea of moving to Spain, there are more things to look forward to than warm weather and all the fresh paella you could want. Making the move from the UK to Spain can also be smart from a financial standpoint. As long as you take the right approach to wealth management and tax planning, your new life in Spain can see you with much lower living costs and more money to save.
To get the biggest financial rewards from moving to Spain, we strongly recommend that you work with financial advisors who understand international markets. In the meantime, here are six ways that moving to Spain can help you save money in the long run.
1. Lower Cost of Living
Spain generally has a lower cost of living than the UK. For example, renting a 1-bedroom flat in the suburbs of Malaga on average, while the average rent for a similar property in the UK can exceed £1,000, especially in cities and down south.
In Spain, you’ll also spend less on everyday expenses like your supermarket shop, public transport and taxis, local services like gardeners and hairdressers, and eating out. That means you have a real opportunity to scale back your monthly expenses without compromising your lifestyle—or, in fact, giving yourself a much better quality of life.
Having a lower cost base means you can use the money you save on outgoings to build a long-term investment strategy, which is best to do with a certified financial advisor or chartered financial planner.
2. Favourable Tax Rates for Residents
If you make a permanent move to Spain and become a Spanish tax resident, good news: there are a few different tax rules compared that you might benefit from to how things work in the UK.
A good example of this is that Spain doesn’t tax certain foreign assets under the right structure, and if you manage your portfolio smartly, you might be able to reduce your income tax. It’s a smart idea to work with a chartered investment manager or certified wealth manager, who can help you with portfolio management and properly structuring your assets.
3. Better Value Healthcare
You might feel nervous to leave behind the UK’s “free” healthcare when you move to Spain, but let’s be real: the NHS is far from perfect right now.
Healthcare in Spain, comparatively, is known for being affordable and has received a lot of praise for its quality. And the system isn’t all that different from how it is in the UK: if you’re a resident who contributes to social security, you’ll have free access to public healthcare. Of course, there’s also the option to go private, and this is generally much more affordable than it is in the UK.
Being able to pay less out of pocket for healthcare in Spain will help you free up more money for asset management and long-term investment planning.
4. Efficient Investment Structures
If you’re keen to invest as smartly as possible while you live in Spain, the good news is that you’ll have access to opportunities that you wouldn’t in the UK.
You’ll be able to work with financial advisors who specialise in expat wealth management and can recommend investment products that are specifically designed for clients living internationally. You can tailor Spanish Compliant Bonds and other Spain investment options to your residency status, and you might even benefit from tax deferral and offer flexibility that you just can’t get from UK-based products
5. Flexible Retirement Planning
Your retirement strategy is something else you can reframe for better outcomes when you move from the UK to Spain.
Along with lower living costs (especially if you live more rurally), you’ll also have access to international pension options, like QROPS or SIPPs, which can help you stretch your pension further. Certified financial advisors will also usually recommend that you use international investment management to help you get the very most from your retirement savings while you’re living abroad.
6. Streamlined Wealth Management
Finally, with Spain having such a large expat community, you’ll have your pick of dozens of well-established firms offering expat financial advice specifically for people who’ve moved from the UK to Spain.
You should find it easy to find a chartered financial advisor who has a good understanding of regulations in both the UK and Spain, so you can handle your investments and set up international wealth structures confidently.
Final Thoughts
Moving to Spain pretty much guarantees you a better lifestyle, but beyond that, it can also give you better control over your financial future.
So, if you’re ready to make the move or you just want to understand more about how you can make your move financially worthwhile, it’s well worth discussing your plans with a certified financial advisor.