Aux Interviews – Caceres

January 5, 2021January 5, 2021Melissa

Kylie is a 3rd year Auxilar in Caceres, Extremadura. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she was working as a museum curator and teaching at her university, when funding for another year fell through. She decided that teaching in Spain sounded new and exciting. And she was right! In January of 2021, she is starting her PhD at the University of Extremadura while juggling the last 5 months of her Auxilar contract.

Creating a Budget When You Don’t Know Your Expenses

September 14, 2017January 19, 2018Melissa

Creating a Budget

Creating a budget can be very overwhelming – especially when you’ve just moved and you don’t know what your expenses will be. I’ve definitely been there. When I arrived in Spain in 2015, I came with $2000 as my starter budget, but without a plan in place, I blew through over half of it before receiving my first paycheck. If I could do it again, what would I do differently? This is what I recommend for incoming auxiliares de conversacion.

I would begin by creating a budget using the 50/20/30 Rule. Here’s how it breaks down:

50% of your income goes to cover your NEEDS – Things like rent, food, electricity, transportation, internet, etc. These are the absolute basics you will pay for every month.
20% of your income goes to SAVINGS – You may need to buy a plane ticket at the end of the year. Or, if you’re staying in Spain over the summer, you’ll need a summer fund for when other opportunities dry up.
30% of your income can go to WANTS – things that you could do without in a pinch, but make life more enjoyable: eating out, drinks, travel, new clothes, etc. These things are likely the reason you are here.

Creating a Budget with the Auxiliar Income

So how would it look for an auxiliar creating a budget based on this plan?

Average Income in Spain

September 1, 2017December 7, 2020Melissa

Average Income: Why it Matters

Updated on December 7, 2020

The average income of a population is often overlooked when people prepare to teach abroad. We usually want to know how much we can make, and that information isn’t difficult to find. According to Go Overseas, the average income for an English teacher in Spain is between 700 and 1800 euros. As an auxiliar de conversacion, you know that your income will be between 700 and 1000 euros a month, depending on where you’re assigned to teach.

What may be more important than your actual salary, however, is how it compares to the average salary where you will live. This will determine how comfortably you will live compared to other people in your city on your auxilar income alone.