Our van broke down - again - yesterday and the first garage we took it to said that it was probably a serious problem that would cost about €1000 to fix.  Now bearing in mind the van is about 10 years old this is a huge amount of money and we have to decide whether it is worth spending that  amount or somehow finding the money to buy a new one.

Many Brits move to Spain thinking they'll easily start up a new business there and live happily ever after.  Unfortunately a large percentage of these Expats face  financial ruin due to lack of knowledge, poor financial  planning and unrealistic expectations. As a result many expats return home poorer and disillusioned having found it  impossible to establish an income in Spain and using all of
their savings to survive.

I am putting together a selection of video clips from expats telling the story of their experiences in Spain.

The theme will follow the Expat Survival Guide showing mistakes that we have made, advice to other expats and funny stories.

The intial categories would be:

Many years ago, Spain was a bargain hunters paradise. Cheap property, holidays, food and drink made it a favourite for property investors and holiday makers alike. Not so today with the exaggerated increase in mortgage interest rates and basic food stuffs.

Speaking to a Spanish friend of my today he told me that a few months ago he had 4 points taken off his driving licence.   What had he done?  He did not come to a complete stop at a stop sign.  By a complete stop I mean just that, he had slowed right down to about 3 miles an hour, there were no cars in sight and he made the turn.  Unluckily for him there were two police parked nearby who pulled him over and fined him the four points.