Selectra Budget Busters: Siobhan, IT Analyst, Renter

By Cormac Breen

Content Manager

Selectra Budget Busters has a look at what Irish people are spending their money on and how they make ends meet. With prices increasing over the last 5 years on everything from electricity and gas to insurance and heating, managing our monthly budget is getting tighter and tighter. Today we are talking to Siobhan, who has agreed to tell us how she manages her monthly budget.

Profile:

• Name: Siobhan
• Age: 30
• Profession: IT Analyst
• Monthly net income: €3,900
• Number of people at home: 2 (sharing a two-bedroom flat)
• Place of residence: Madrid, Spain

Siobhan's Monthly Expenditure

Living in central Madrid and sharing a two-bedroom flat sees Siobhan budgeting for the following:

• 💶 Monthly Budget Breakdown
• Rent - €750 (€1,500 in total between 2)
• Electricity - €30 - €50
• Home Heating - €150
• Food - €700
• Internet and Mobile Services - €15
• Transport - €70
• Insurance - €90
• Water - €35
• Gym subscription + yoga - €100
• Savings - €500

Rent

Siobhan has been living and working in Spain for the last 8 years and has recently started a new job as an IT analyst and has a net income of roughly €3,900 per month.

She shares a two-bedroom flat in central Madrid and pays €750 per month:

I think there is good value for your money when it comes to renting so I'm happy to pay a little bit more compared to Dublin where I have friends that would pay more than me and get very little in return. I have noticed that renting is getting more expensive and the demand has gone up a lot in recent years. I'm quite comfortable on the moment but my salary would be above average so for someone on a more typical salary here of about €1,500, it's getting harder and harder.

According to data from Idealista, Spain's equivalent to Daft.ie, average room rental prices in central Madrid neighbourhood can reach around €500-€600 per month. However, you can find rooms for €400 or less in areas further from the city centre.

In Dublin, finding a room for less than €700 is increasingly difficult, even in less central areas. In central Dublin, expect to pay €800-€1000 or more.

Home Heating and Electricity

Irish consumers continue to face some of the highest electricity bills across the EU, with the average bill in Ireland now €1,496.03 for homes with a 24hr urban meter.

The latest figures from Eurostat indicate that Ireland's electricity prices have increased by almost 43% since 2020 from €0.2616/kWh to €0.3736/kWh in 2024 making Ireland's electricity bills the second highest across the EU:

Source: Eurostat EU Electricity Prices
Figures quoted include relevant taxes and levies applied. Last updated, February 2025.

While Spain also experienced a significant rise in the cost of electricity and gas, prices have fallen in recent years as Spain's energy sector diversified their energy sources, in particular, their sourcing of natural gas.

While prices remain higher than they were pre-2022, customers have seen their average monthly bill fall to between €50 and €100 for an average consumer:

It think a lot of people might have the idea that Spain is warm and sunny all year round but here in Madrid it does get quite cold in winter and heating is essential. Having said that, it does get very hot here in summer which eliminates the need for the heating but that's where the cost in turning on air conditioning comes in and it can be quiet expensive so we definitely are more conscious with how we use it.

I moved to my new flat at the end of 2022 when electricity and heating prices were rising and since then I have started paying more attention to exactly how much it is costing us. We split the bills so it's manegable but outside of the coldest and hottest parts of the year, we try to cut down on it.

Food

Much like in Ireland, Spain also saw a marked increase in the cost of consumer products over the last 5 years, including food shopping. Some reports in Spain have quoted an increase of almost 30% in the price of food items.

This is something Siobhan has noticed in particular:

There is a perception of Spain as a cheap country to live in but the essentials like food shopping are getting more and more expensive here. Some of the things I normally buy have doubled in price in the last year or so. There can be more value in things like fruit and vegetables as so many of them are grown here but other things like olive oil, which is a staple here, has got really expensive. For the same €50 I spent in the supermarket two years ago, I'm getting half the value from it I reckon.

The area where I see value in Spain is eating out. You can easily have a meal with a drink, glass of wine etc and pay less than €25. Of course if you want something a bit extra, you can pay up to well over €100 but it's really not necessary as there are so many affordable options. As a result, I find myself going out more than my friends in Ireland who would often see it as a treat maybe once a month as to something they can do every week.

Public Transport

Public transport costs in Ireland, particularly in Dublin, can cost commuters between €115 to over €150 per month depending on to what extent they are using the bus, light rail or Luas network.

For Siobahn, one of the best things about living in Madrid in how affordable travelling around the city is.

At the moment I am paying €25 per month and this gives me complete access the the transport network and I can use it as much as I want. It's normally closer to €50 per month but they reduced the price a few years ago to help with the cost of living increases here. I take the metro nearly every day and it's very clean and efficent. Going out in the evenings and at night, it's great knowing that you'll always have an easy way to get home and if not, taxi apps like Uber and Cabify are affordable.

Miscellaneous

Apart from the obvious things, water is something you pay for here but it's never more than €15 or €20 a month. I also have a gym subscription that costs about €20 a month but it's a budget gym and you can pay a lot more to go to the fancier ones in the city. The same with exercises classes, I pay €10 for a type of pay-as-you-go yoga class but given how trendy it is these days, you can pay up to €100 or more for a monthly subscription. 

Siobhan's Budgeting Advice

Selectra's Budget Buster articles are all about helping you save money by giving you an insight into how other Irish consumers are managing their monthly budgets.

For Siobhan, she had this advice to offer:

Since I started my new job and saw an increase in my monthly salary, I'm much more conscious about the value I get for my money. I try to put some aside as savings with the idea that maybe I could use this in the future for a tyoe of investment, maybe a deposit for a house but this increase is realtively new so I'm still figuring out how I want to manage things.  

My biggest piece of advice would be to tell people to actually look at your payslips and bank account and better understand how much you are being paid, how much you pay in taxes etc and what exactly is going into and out of your bank account each month. I know people who hate looking at their bank account but it's really useful as you can see where you can cut down on costs etc. On top of this, use apps like Revolut to track your spending, put little bits of money aside etc. If you can create good financial habits now, it goes a long way in the future. I'm still not the best at it but it's something I'm trying to do more and more. 

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