"It would be a wise move to bring some Euros with you. You should exchange some money in your home country or at the airport (either departures or arrivals). It is often hard to exchange money once you have arrived if you arrive on a weekend, which most of us do. Take in consideration that some credit cards don’t work, and that it would be good idea to make sure that your credit card is accepted. It would be recommended that you bring more than one. Take photocopies of your credit cards and passport. This to make sure, that if you by any circumstance lost any of these possessions; you would still have the numbers and could take some action on the problem. You can use your credit card in shops, restaurants etc, but you will need the pin number and/or identification. I would recommend to always carry a copy of your passport with you."

"I do not recommend Barclay’s Bank; ATM fees and such, as well as account management fees were higher. If you have access to an ATM with an account in the U.S. and could use your parents as account managers, this solution is more cost effective and convenient. In addition, overall bank hours here are even worse than usual bank hours, since they do not open after the siesta. Internet banking, for debit card balances, as well as for credit card charges is a huge help. If you are going to change money, Western Union is OK but they charge the sender heftily and charge you to exchange the money to Euros. A bank can often times be better."

"I opened a checking account with a debit card because they do not charge fees for withdrawing overseas. I also opened a VISA credit card and brought the Mastercard I already had. You might want to arrange it so that your parents have access in case you need them to withdraw or deposit into your account. You can check all your balances online, which came in really handy. It is a good idea to take two credit cards."

"I did not open up a bank account because ATM machines are everywhere and they all accept my card from the credit union at home.

"Spaniards pay with cash more often than we do. Even if they have a big bill of 90 Euros they'll still pay in cash. Credit card use is not as frequent and checks are seldom used. With a credit card you will be asked to show a picture ID and sometimes they require a passport. There are ATMs everywhere. On my block alone there were three different banks. I didn’t have a bank account because I was there as a tourist officially, but others I met had one. Most of the BEST participants in my group relied on ATMs. I didn’t bring any U.S. currency or traveller’s cheques to Madrid; I only used cards."

"Madrid is like any other big city; some things can get expensive. You can obviously curtail your budget to your wallet, by eating out less, travelling less, etc. I found the suggested estimate to be too conservative, but my housing and travel expenses were atypical. Also, the exchange rate was a killer. Costs for me in Madrid were approximately the following:

• Housing: $575 per month
• Food: $250 per month
• Local Transportation: $39 per month for unlimited use of the subway system in the downtown area.
• Entertainment/Clubbing: $500 per month"

"My Basic Costs:

• Housing: about 500€ per month.
• Food: I ate out a lot so I would say 200€.
• Local transportation: an unlimited monthly Metro/bus pass called an abono costs 25,40 Euros if you’re younger than 21.
• Travel: The sky is the limit. I went to Italy for Semana Santa (eleven days in April) and spent nearly 1000 Euros."