⚡Are You Winning with Your Energy Bill in Portugal?

Happy sunny Sunday, friends! 🌞 

The weather is finally improving, with the scent of spring flowers riding a slightly warmer breeze — and with it, a little relief for our energy bills too. If you’re wondering whether you’re paying too much, scroll down to check out a brilliant new tool that gives you an instant answer (no math degree required).

Here’s what we’re diving into today:

🎶 Music and cultural events you can’t miss during May and June

⚡️ A clever tool to instantly check if you’re overpaying your energy provider

🗣️ Incredible resources to level up your Portuguese language skills

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Let’s dive in, shall we?

📷 Pic of the week

Ferragudo is a charming fishing village located in the Algarve region of Portugal, situated on the eastern side of the Arade River estuary, directly opposite the larger city of Portimão. According to one travel blogger, Ferragudo is the prettiest village in the Algarve, offering a picturesque, authentic Algarve experience with stunning river and ocean views, historic sites, and a relaxed vibe away from the crowds.

📰 What’s Happening: Music & Culture

MAY 2025

Óbidos Vila Gaming (May 7–11, Óbidos): Portugal’s largest gaming event transforms the medieval town into a “Vila Gaming” with free entry. Expect retro gaming, VR, eSports, cosplay, dance games, workshops, and talks from industry experts—fun for all ages.

Pixies – The Night The Zombies Came Tour (May 10, Lisbon): The Pixies will showcase their new album during their Lisbon performance.

Andrea Bocelli – Live in Leiria (May 31, Leiria): The renowned tenor will perform a special concert in Leiria, accompanied by a full orchestra, delivering an unforgettable evening of classical and contemporary pieces.

Coala Festival Portugal (May 31 - June 1, Cascais): Celebrating the cultural bridge between Portugal and Brazil, the Coala Festival features artists like Liniker, Djodje, Ney Matogrosso, and Xande performing Caetano Veloso's classics.

JUNE 2025

Guns N' Roses (June 6, Coimbra): The legendary rock band performs at Estádio Cidade de Coimbra.

Primavera Sound Porto 2025 (June 12-15, Porto): This edition of the renowned festival includes performances by Anohni and the Johnsons, Beach House, Deftones, and TV On The Radio, among others.

MEO Kalorama (June 19–21, 2025, Bela Vista Park, Lisbon): Featuring Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters, Jorja Smith, FKA Twigs, and more.

Festa de São João (June 23–24, Porto): Porto’s biggest street party with fireworks, concerts, and quirky traditions like hitting each other with plastic hammers

Imagine Dragons – LOOM World Tour (June 26, Lisbon): Expect a high-energy performance blending new tracks with chart-topping hits like "Radioactive" and "Believer."

LISB-ON #JardimSonoro (June 27–29, Lisbon): Urban festival with diverse music genres.

🏡 Lifestyle: Eat, Pray, Love—and everything in between

What do you pay for electricity?

Those of you who’ve been around for a while might remember our family’s shocking introduction to electricity costs in Portugal. The short version of that story? We were paying way too much. Wrong plan. Wrong supplier. And somehow, we’d agreed to a fixed monthly payment instead of paying by actual meter readings. (Still don’t ask me how.)

Here’s what we learned — the expensive way:

• ✅ Not all electricity providers are created equal. Some (cough EDP cough) charge way more.

• ✅ Don’t get lured into extra packages and service contracts. They’re sticky and hard to cancel.

• ✅ Switching providers is way easier than you think. Sometimes it’s literally one phone call.

Ever since our surprise bill of €700 a year after arriving, I’ve been on a mission to reduce our electricity costs wherever possible. This hunt recently led me to a startup that just raised one million euros at the end of their investment funding round. They are on a mission to ensure consumers pay the best and lowest price possible for electricity — and they are speaking my love language.

Enter Manie.pt:

An innovative Portuguese startup operating as an "energy hub," Manie offers a digital platform that helps both individuals and businesses reduce their electricity and gas expenses. Founded by former executives of ComparaJá and Seedrs, Manie was created to simplify energy management, cut through bureaucracy, and deliver real savings on energy bills.

They offer a free assessment of your electricity bill — and after uploading the PDF document, it took just a few seconds to reveal some very good news:

🎉 Congratulations! You're paying the best price on the market!

After switching providers more often than some people change toothbrushes, finally getting confirmation that we’re winning at electricity feels so good. (We’re currently with Galp Energia.)

So, who exactly is Manie, and how can you check if you’re paying the best price for your energy? (No, they didn’t pay me to say any of this — I’m just genuinely impressed).

Let’s take a quick look:

How Manie Helps Reduce Energy Bills

Manie offers two main services:​

• Simulator: Allows users to change their energy provider in just two minutes by submitting a bill, entirely online and hassle-free.​

• AutoSwitch: This service monitors the energy market and automatically switches to the most advantageous offer based on user preferences. There are two options:

AutoSwitch Basic: Free, with quarterly market analysis and automatic contract changes.

AutoSwitch Pro: For €7.99/month, it offers daily market analysis, advanced consumption profiling, and specialized support.​

These services have shown significant results, with an average saving of about 40% on the first contract switch, and cases where users saved over €900 in just two months.​

Additional Features

Energy Consumption Management: The platform provides detailed insights into consumption patterns, helping identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency.​

Promotion of Sustainable Energy: Manie emphasizes the use of renewable energy, offering personalized recommendations for solar energy production and facilitating participation in renewable energy communities.​

Mobile Application: A mobile app is in development, which will allow users to manage contracts, monitor consumption, and receive personalized recommendations, integrating with smart meters and home devices.​

In summary, Manie offers a comprehensive digital solution to optimize energy costs, combining advanced technology with a user-centric approach, aiming not only for savings but also for sustainability and energy efficiency.

⚡️ 

Did you give the simulator a try? I'd love to hear where you landed on the price scale! Please hit reply and let me know if you tested it out — and whether you found it helpful. I read and reply to every email (sometimes it takes me a couple of days, but I always get there!).

Want to be a sponsor? 🙌 We’re opening up our very first sponsorship slots, and your business could be featured in an upcoming issue. If you’ve got a product or service that expats should know about, hit reply and tell me more—or reach out to learn about our sponsorship options.

💰 The Hustle Fund — Money, Taxes, and all things Financial

Coming up this May 🎉 

We’ve got some juicy articles dropping soon, straight from the desks of our trusted tax and property experts. If you know someone who could use a little extra insider wisdom, be a querido and share The Expat Hustle with them!

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s landing in your inbox soon:

📜 Inheritance & Estate Planning In Portugal

What happens to your assets after you’re gone? (Hint: it’s more complicated than you think — unless you plan smart.)

🏠️ Optimising for Rental Success in Portugal

Thinking about renting out your place (or buying one to rent)? Learn how to boost your profits: from attracting the right tenants to setting the right rent.

🗣 Lost in Lingo

In this lesson by Talk The Streets, Liz shares her favorite tools for learning European Portuguese in 2025. The resources she recommends are super practical, and not just a list of which apps to download. Her first tip is to head to your local library and explore the children's section for simple books. I can personally vouch for this! Libraries are some of the most welcoming places for foreigners starting their language journey, and the librarians are usually friendly and eager to help you find books suited to your level. For words you don’t know, you can use the Google Translate app or DeepL — just snap a photo of the page and let the translator work its magic. Plus, children’s books are full of everyday language, phrases, and expressions, making them a brilliant way to see simple dialogue in action.

The other resources Liz mentions in this video are also quite cool, and I’ve listed them below for you to check out:

🐧 Linguno: a website that offers conjugation exercises, listening practice, flashcards, and crossword puzzles.

🥧 DailyNata: Simple, bite-sized Portuguese language lessons delivered straight to your inbox.

📺️ Pôr do Sol, TV Series: A Portuguese dramatic comedy and satire, available on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

…And That’s All Folks

Thanks for reading! 💌

Hustle on!

Angelique🧞‍♀️

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Disclaimer: The links I share are for products and services I’ve actually used and recommend. Sometimes, I get to share a referral link, which might throw a little reward my way—but never at your expense. You’ll pay the same price set by the supplier, no sneaky markups. My recommendations are always based on experience, not commissions. Thanks for supporting this newsletter—you rock!