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How can you save money on schoolbooks in Spain?

Everything has gotten more expensive in Spain, and schoolbooks are no exception. With the return to classrooms just around the corner, here are some tricks parents can use to cut costs in terms of textbooks and other material.

how to save money on school books in spain
In 2022, parents in Spain will spend on average €405 per child on 'la vuelta al cole'. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP)

Most children in Spain will be going back to school in the second week of September, which still leaves quite a bit of time to get all the new materials and books. However, it’s best to start as early as possible, as a scramble for books in early September often causes them to run out, and prices to go up. 

In 2021, families in Spain spent on average €386 per child on their return to school, with books and other materials making up about half of the expense. 

In 2022, with rising inflation affecting pretty much all living costs, the overall return to school cost per child inched up to €405, roughly the same as for la vuelta al cole (return to school) in 2023.

For infantil (0 to 6 years), parents can expect to spend €101 per child on schoolbooks, for primaria (6 to 12) it will be €187 and for secundaria (12 to 16) the average expense is €260.

READ ALSO: Why are books so expensive in Spain?

Keeping this in mind, parents should be armed with all the tricks in the book to help reduce costs, so here are some handy cost-cutting tips: 

Compare prices in different bookshops

The website Ahorra en Libros allows you to compare prices in different bookshops, so you can find the cheapest new books. You can search them easily by using the ISBN number.

Independent bookshops

Many independent bookshops will give you the maximum authorised discount of 5 percent on books for Bachillerato (high school), and up to 10 or 15 percent for primary and secondary schoolbooks, so it’s worth asking for a discount.

Second hand websites

Of course, the best way to save money (and to be less wasteful) is to buy second hand. Websites like OkLibros and Relibrea have been set up in recent years specifically to help people find schoolbooks.

Meanwhile many parents have also been using re-sale websites like Wallapop, where users can buy, sell or exchange with people in their neighbourhood.

Some bookshops like La Casa del Libro also have their own second hand book sections, which you can search on their website.

When buying used books, be sure to check that the ISBN number matches the one in the list provided by the school. Text books have to be reedited with new information every few years, so some of them get outdated very quickly.

Getting in touch with other parents at the school

Perhaps the most effective way of swapping books is by getting in touch with other parents. It’s likely many of the books on the curriculum will be the same as the previous year, so it’s worth trying to find someone in the year above who can pass on their books, and someone in the year below who might be able to reuse yours.

The school’s own second-hand scheme

Many schools have been organising their own book swaps, where children effectively “rent” their books and return them at the end of the school year. However, this means the books need to be looked after throughout the year and kept in good condition if you want to get your deposit back.

Check if your Spanish region offers deductions

Some regional governments offer either free text books or pay for part of the price parents pay for them. For the 2023/2024 academic year, Aragón, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Murcia, Castilla-La Macha all offer to reimburse the cost of these text books, whilst other regions and provinces help out large or low-income families in other ways with the cost of text books. 

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FOOD AND DRINK

The foods that will increase in price in Spain in July 2024

The Spanish government's VAT freeze on certain food products is set to finish at the end of June, meaning several basic and essential items will get more expensive.

The foods that will increase in price in Spain in July 2024

On June 30th the Spanish government will end its VAT rebate on certain food products, making several basic foodstuffs more expensive overnight. The measure was first approved by the government as part of a package of measures aimed at alleviating the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and supporting low-income families amid high inflation.

In January 2023 VAT was cut on certain products that were already at the reduced rate of 4 percent, and in addition, VAT on oils (including olive oil, which was later reduced to 0 percent) and pasta were lowered from 10 percent to 5 percent.

However, after the policy was extended through the entire first half of 2024, the normal VAT rates are set to come back into force from July 1st if the government doesn’t further extend it, something that now seems unlikely.

READ ALSO: Why is olive oil cheaper overseas when Spain is the world’s top producer?

Foods that will get more expensive 

The foods that were included in the VAT reduction and will therefore now get more expensive from July include:

  • Plain bread, as well as frozen plain bread dough.
  • Flours
  • Milk: natural, certified, pasteurised, concentrated, skimmed, sterilised, UHT, evaporated and powdered
  • Cheeses
  • Eggs
  • Fruits and vegetables
  • Cereals
  • Olive oil and seed oils.
  • Pasta

This comes amid shocking consumer watchdog findings that show the price of food in Spain is, in extreme cases, up to 875 percent more expensive when sold on supermarket shelves than it is at source. This is according to a Facua-Consumers in Action press release on Tuesday.

According to the study, a kilo of lemons at source was priced at €0.20, yet the price per kilo in supermarkets is, on average, €1.79 — 695 percent more expensive. A kilo of lentils was found to cost on average 369 percent more in supermarkets than what the farmer is paid for the same product (€0.76/kg). 

Some Spanish economists argue that grocery shopping has become more expensive for Spaniards than for other Europeans because they tend to consume products that are increasing in price the most, particularly olive oil. 

The Bank of Spain has also pointed out that a preference for fresh produce in Spanish households has forced many to decide between eating healthily and cutting costs.

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