Spend Smart. Europe calling on cheaper euro

Want to get away from the daily grind and spend some time relaxing in Europe? Well, what are you waiting for?

With the euro having turned cheaper — it’s down 10 per cent to ₹69 — since the start of the year, spending on goods, services, and everything in between will turn cheaper.

Of course, a weaker euro is not good for those depending on remittances from relatives or those invested in European markets. But for the spendthrift, now is the time to pack their bags and head to Europe. Here’s giving an idea of how much spenders can save on their bills.

A holiday involves a string of expenses. There’s accommodation, food, local travel, entry tickets at tourist spots such as museums and parks.

And yes, shopping too! All this involves a lower outgo now than before, thanks to a weaker euro against the rupee.

Here’s putting it in numbers. Say, you are planning to visit places in Greece for a week in early February. A stay for two people at a two-star hotel in Athens could cost you ₹17,000-₹27,000.

Something similar last February would have probably seen you shell out ₹20,000-₹33,000, when the euro was stronger.

Accomodation at a five-star hotel, which could cost you between €800 and €1,500, means that you save anywhere between ₹12,000 and ₹23,000, compared to last year.

Or consider another city, say, Rome. You can save ₹9,000 to ₹19,000 (for two people) for a week’s stay in three-star hotels this year compared to last year.

Then there’s food, visits to museums and galleries, getting around the city and so on, which can add another €40-€80 (per person per day, depending on the type of traveller you are).

So, once you include your expenses on food, travel and what not, your savings can add up to quite a healthy pile. Take your pick from any of the 19 Eurozone countries, such as Italy, Greece, France, Belgium, or Ireland that have the euro as their currency.

If you fear volatility in exchange rates (a valid one in today’s yo-yoing market), one way to lock into a particular exchange rate is to buy a pre-paid forex card in the euro currency offered by most banks.

You load these cards with a certain amount of money and then swipe to pay at merchant outlets or restaurants.

The currency rate (plus conversion fee and so on) applies at the time of purchasing the card. There are no additional conversion charges levied on usage abroad, unlike a debit or credit card. You do need to have a valid visa to buy a card, however. In any case, a prepaid forex card is the safest way to carry money while you are travelling.

An added bonus can come in if airlines cut ticket prices, especially with falling fuel costs. Leisure apart, students can also make some tidy savings on studying abroad.

This is a welcome surprise for those who have already been admitted to a college in Europe.

But it’s yet not too late in the day; you could still try your luck with universities where the deadlines are not over. The outlook for the euro is not too bright and even if you need to pay the fees some months from now, you could still be dishing out less than what you would have last year. The weaker euro also helps those who are already studying in European universities.

Let’s suppose you applied to the Paris School of Economics and are accepted for admission to one of their master’s degree programmes. The registration fees, including the charges for social security (for those under the age of 28) for a two-year master’s programme, comes to around €460. In rupee terms, this would mean you would have to pay ₹31,740 now compared with around ₹39,000 last January. Studying at the institution carries no other fee. Let’s take another example. If you had to pay for one of the three-year undergraduate courses at the University College Dublin, Ireland, then instead of paying somewhere between ₹14 lakh and ₹17 lakh, you could do with paying around ₹12-14 lakh as annual fees. And once living expenses are factored in, you could save another ₹12,000 if you stay on campus. The savings could be much more if you decide to stay outside the campus.

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