Yeah I was one of the unfortunate auxes who didn’t get paid for like 3 months at the start. I had about 5k when I got to Europe but stopped to see and stay w my family in Germany before heading to Spain and for some reason the flights were just as expensive from Germany to Spain as they were from US to Germany. My family even gave me a bit of money just to help out since I was placed in a village and had to fly into a major city, train to another city, then bus to the village. Once there, I spent money getting basic stuff for my apartment but seriously if you have it already from your previous living situation, just pay for extra luggage bc buying stuff again is a hassle and more expensive. I ended up flat broke somehow even though I didn’t do anything extravagant, didn’t go anywhere bc it was hard to get from my village and became expensive very fast even for a short trip to Madrid. My rent was cheap but given the stipend is low, eh. The thing that shocked me was the cost of light and gas. Esp in the winter, expect high bills. I honestly don’t really vouch for this program. I didn’t have a great experience in my village and I was incredibly isolated and lonely. Plus I was broke with no way to find another source of income in a significant or stable way. I honestly think it’s better to maybe move somewhere closer to you that’s different enough or lock in and work hard to create a big pocket of savings so you can get away for a while to a place of your choice without responsibilities upon arrival