Rachel Turkington, ISA: Granada Spring 2025
My daily life consists of going to class in the morning, going home for lunch, and during the week, I may explore in the afternoon, go shopping, do something outside, or get dinner with friends. During the weekend, I am either traveling or resting while doing things that have been on my list in my host city. I got a lot of practice planning trips, managing my time, and running errands in my host city. Living in an apartment, I bought all my own groceries. I found groceries in Spain to be slightly cheaper than in the States, however, my buying habits were also a bit different. I bought less overall as I was only going to be there for a few months (I did not stock my pantries with dry goods and baking supplies like I would at home). I also went to the store a couple of times a week for fresh produce and things I was out of instead of one big trip every week or two. While I have access to all the big clothing stores in my city if I need something quick, I try to shop at small boutiques when I need new clothes. This way, you are supporting a small business, and you have a more unique piece you can take home as a souvenir.
When it comes to banking in your host country, it is best if you have a credit card from a major international provider like Visa or Mastercard. In addition, it is really
important that your cards do not have international transaction fees. While you will need to have some of the local currency, many students found it difficult or expensive to go to ATMs and brought a larger sum of converted money from the States. I was lucky as my bank in the States happened to be a large Spanish bank. There were ATMs on every corner, and it was less expensive for me to get cash.
However, I still tried to go as little as possible, as I had to pay international and transaction fees even though I saved by using my bank’s ATM.
Savings and scholarships were the main way I had money for study abroad and personal travel. In an ideal world, knowing you want to go abroad early is a good way to have the ability to save far in advance. Before I left, I decided what things were most important to me. Is it shopping, trying new cuisines, traveling to as many places as I could? I recommend doing this before you leave so you can decide what is a priority for you without the influence of other people. It is okay if these priorities change when you make new friends or you learn something new about your city that you did not anticipate, but recognizing what is important to you when you look back on your experience will make sure you feel fulfilled by the end of it.
Finally, it is important to remember everyone will have different spending habits abroad. Additionally, you may spend differently than you do at home. How much you spend or how much of your savings you use will be a very personal choice specific to your life and circumstances. The majority of my spending was on weekend travel. My food and shopping spending I kept to a minimum, similar to how I spend at home. While frequently traveling may not be realistic under other circumstances outside of study abroad, I found ways to stretch my savings and prioritize my non-negotiable experiences. Even when I found myself stressed about money or over budget, I never regretted spending money on an experience I did when I look back on it.
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