I don’t know about you, but November isn’t my thing. This getting dark earlier and earlier, it’s not quite winter for skiing yet and the Christmas season is still a bit away… This year a motivational attempt with home fitness YouTube videos in the sense of “Movember”, well the results are more like it so far on my family funny bones, who seem to be having a good time every morning, than on my waist.
As the days get shorter and temperatures drop, the much-discussed and sometimes dreaded fall and winter season is upon us. Is the energy crisis coming? How will Europe, Switzerland and all of us rock it? Around us inflation is somewhere around 10% and in England, for example, the cost of living crisis has been a sad reality for quite some time.
According to recent Bloomberg reports, the proportion of people who struggle to make ends meet has doubled in the past year. Nearly half of British families are left with less than 3.47 Swiss francs (£3) a week and 7 million families will not need heating, toiletries or showers this year to save money. It’s not so serious here in Switzerland, but here too the mood is subdued. According to the latest BFS survey, consumer confidence has fallen by -42 points.
Since not all factors have the same effect on your budget, but especially energy costs, health insurance premiums and, depending on your spending behavior, the costs of everyday goods, here are a few practical saving tips:
There is a whole range of measures, here is a selection sorted by saving potential (source powernetz.ch, EWZ, saving amounts illustrative for Zurich):
Nobody likes those calls from call centers trying to suggest improvements, but it’s still worth checking. You can save with, for example:
You can also save on daily necessities by focusing on recycling and reuse. There is a trend emerging and it may make sense, especially given the rising cost of gasoline and clothing. Tips on this:
This is just a small sampling, there are plenty of things we can do to protect the budget from rising costs. What saving measures for energy and health insurance do you take and what tips do you have?
