living expenses

There have been a lot of recent posts on living expenses in France done by several different people in very different situations. LouLou lives in the south of France and owns her home outright. Jennie lives in the Alps and rents. We live in Normandy and are paying off a mortgage on the house we built.

I don't believe in converting Euros into Dollars simply because it doesn't make sense, we're paid in Euros and spend in Euros so it twists things the wrong way to be converting all the time. Here are some figures to give you an idea - they are all monthly to make more sense.

Mortgage 570
Food 400 (I don't skimp on food!)
Internet 32
House insurance 27
Electricity 75 to 100
Car insurance for 2 cars 32+47
Cell phone for two phones 44+42
Mutuelle (additional health insurance) for each of us 20+20
Gym 40

Because we built a h.ouse we are exempt from taxe fonciere and taxe d'habitation for the next few years. We just did our income taxes for the year 2010 and will not be paying any (actually getting money back) because I could deduct all of the km I drove with my insane commute last year as well as the interest paid to the bank for the house (again temporary reduction for a couple of years). What kind of heating you have also makes a huge difference in your bills, the heating here is a pompe a chaleur with underfloor heating which really doesn't cost very much to heat the house, no gas or oil to pay for.

Gas depends on how much we drive, both cars are diesel. Mine gets about 5.3 l/100km meaning I can go about 1,000km on a tank of gas which these days costs about 60 or 70 euros. MG's car gets better mileage about 4.2 l/100km.

How to get a French Driving License

I could have sworn that I did a re-cap on how I got my French driving license but looking back through my posts it does not appear that I have...

(this is all based on the fact that I have my American license from a non-exchange state).

Step one: Stop by any Auto-Ecole and ask for the formulaire 02 - the PDF can be found here - to take the code de la route (written exam). You can either sign up to take it with them (and PAY!) or you can send the filled out form and send it to your local Prefecture to take it as canidat libre (along with the documents required, ask your auto-ecole for the list but if I remember: 3 ID pics, self-addressed stamped envelope, justificatif de domicile and photocopy of your American license). I also included a letter asking to take the test for non-Francophones. This option exists at least in my department and is held every 3 months in the head office. You can take the exam for free if you do it directly through the Prefecture. It might take longer to get a date - especially in cities like Paris but if you send off the document first of all it will give you time to study while you wait.

Step two: Study STUDY STUDY! Pick up one of the Code de la Route DVDs/iPhone apps etc and practice as much as you can!!! Everyday if possible. The questions are utterly stupid (although I've heard there is a movement to make the more related to actual driving...). You think you know how to drive but you don't know how to answer their stupid questions so practice as much as possible!

Step three: Take the test. Go to your convocation, breathe deeply and don't stress like I did the first time.. boo.

Step four: If you pass the code then go back to the Auto-Ecole with the stamped document that they gave you and ask to sign up for a few hours and the driving test. Each hour will run you between 30 - 40 euros. If you already know how to driving a stick good for you! Will be much easier and I bet you'll only need 2 or 3 hours. I did a total of 9 hours because I was only just learning how to drive a stick and I had not been driving in France on my American license so it was all news to me. They will sign you up for the driving exam and you'll get your convocation.

Step five: Take the driving test. Some smaller towns still tell you if you passed right there after the test, others will send you the notice in the mail. Once you pass the test you'll have a document that allows you to drive on it until you get your license. Once you get your license in the mail you're good to go! (for the next 3 years, you'll be considered a "young/novice" driver until then, only 6 points and you're technically supposed to put the "A" on your car and driver under the speed limit.) Technically you can also take the driving test as canidat libre but you have to provide your own car which has pedals on the passenger side... I looked into renting one but it would have cost more than doing it with the Auto-Ecole. Honestly who owns a car like that??

It took me about a year start to finish for a couple of reasons. The first time I sent in my request to pass en candiat libre they did not have a complete application and instead of asking me they just threw it away... 2 months wasted. Then I failed the first "code" exam since I totally stressed out. Waited another 3 months and took it non-Francophone the second time around, MUCH better! Then I failed my first driving test and had to wait for a second date a couple months later. It also cost me a total of 430E (9 hours plus the cost of taking the driving part twice - the 2 written exams were free as I did it directly through the prefecture.)

I hope I'm not forgetting anything and I hope this helps!

a few tips on French banking...

In the last couple of days I have read a few experiences on other people's blogs in regards to French banking and specifically direct debits.

My most recent job gave me a lot of insight into the way things work. I won't go into too much detail simply because the only words to describe things would bring my blog straight up in a Google search with those keywords and I would prefer to avoid that at the moment..

Anyway just a quick word of advice re French direct debits and bill paying.

For those of you who do not know there are several ways to pay a French bill:

1. cheque - FYI it is illegal in France to post date a cheque and if there is a discrepancy between the letters and numbers the spelled out amount always takes precedent.

2. TIP (the tear off bit at the bottom your bill can be sent in along with a cheque so the company has your reference number. Alternativly it can be signed, dated and returned to the company with a copy of your RIB details allowing the company to take a 1-off direct debit for the amount on the TIP.)

3. Direct debit - prélevement automatique. This is the most common means of payment and the most traditional way to set one up is to provide the company with a copy of your RIB details requesting a direct debit be set up on your account by the company. By doing so you authorize the company to call for the funds each month and the bank releases the funds accordingly. This can also be set up on your debit card but for the following reasons this is to be avoided at all costs!

The direct debit system works great - until you have a problem! You authorize the payment to leave and each month it does so. You do need to make sure there are sufficiant funds in the account to cover direct debits as your authorization permits them to take any amount which can put your account overdrawn and rack up fees. The reason being is that you have authorized the company to collect the funds and they do so as they see fit. Again, most of the time this works out fine, the company calls for the given amount each month and you do not need to do anything, no bills or cheques to deal with.

The problem occurs when you have a problem with the company. The bank does not pay out unless the company calls for the funds. When set up with RIB details the bank is able to put a block on the direct debit if need be - faire opposition de prélevement - which simply blocks the company from accessing your account. This does not cancel services or contracts you hold with the company and it is the only thing the bank can do to stop any outgoing direct debits. There used to be a charge for doing so but I think a law was passed to prevent banks from charging you. If you have problems with a company not respecting a contract you have with them and direct debiting your account for the wrong amounts or after a contract has been cancelled the first step is to send a registered letter and the second step is to ask your bank to put a block on the direct debit. In the meantime nothing prevents you from paying the company by cheque/cash etc until things are sorted. If a disagreement is settled and you want the direct debit to continue you need to ask your bank to lift the stop - demander une main levée de prélevement.

It is important to know that while you can have several contracts with a single company (2 different cell phones, internet vs. landline, different taxes set up for the tax office, 2 homes both through EDF etc...) if you put a stop on the direct debit the bank cannot differentiate the contracts you may have with a company and will stop all direct debits to that company (this includes TIP payments as they fall under the direct debit catagory even if they are not ongoing).

**However if the direct debit is set up on your card there is nothing the bank can do. Even if you stop your card, block it, lose it, declare it stolen and it is officially cancelled by the bank the company can still have an ongoing direct debit on the card that will continue to debit your account.

If a direct debit has already gone through your account there is a small window (usually 2-3 business days) that your bank has to pull back the direct debit. This will be done automatically due to insufficiant funds in your account but can also be done at your request (written or in person) but you will likely incur bank charges for the privilage. If your account is overdrawn the direct debit will eventually be rejected and recredited to your account. In this case the company will obviously notice that they have not been paid and will try to represent in a few weeks time, again incurring you with more bank charges. This will not make you interdit bancaire.

Interdit bancaire is only if you bounce a cheque. The reason being is that that cheque is a debt you owe the person you wrote it to (think an IOU). Until that debt is paid and officially confirmed to the bank you will be blacklisted for all of your French accounts at your bank or any other accounts you hold at other French banks (via the Banque de France) for up to five years. Again, this is only due to a bounced cheque, going overdrawn by other means (debit card payments, direct debits etc) have no effect other than racking up charges (FYI if you go to the main page of your bank's website I can pretty much guarantee that all of their charges will be listed in a pdf document under "tarifs principals" or "frais bancaires / nos tarifs" etc).

I hope this little "tutorial" wasn't too confusing or long but I thought it might help some newbies out there or even some of us that have been around for a while! :-)

ps. I hope there are not too many spelling mistakes, always a shortcoming of mine and spellcheck via blogger is on the blink...