Swiss people are more pessimistic about the new year than ever before: 27.5 percent expect their financial situation to worsen, according to a representative survey from the online comparison service Comparis. Comparis interviewed more than 1,000 people for the study.
“People on low incomes in particular expect a tough year in 2023,” says Comparis expert Michael Kuhn (43). 13 percent of those who earn less than 4,000 francs a month say that the money is already insufficient. The other 49 percent, in their own words, have to “seriously limit themselves” and surrender every franc to be able to pay all the bills at the end of the month.
Values are historical: Comparis has been conducting the survey since 2017. Never before in Switzerland did so many people think that they would be in worse financial shape in the new year.
Health insurance, rent, holidays
According to the survey, the main reasons for the bad outlook in the financial statement are rising health insurance premiums, followed by rising rents and mortgage interest rates. The decline in stock markets is also making itself felt: 15 percent fear their investments will continue to depreciate in the coming year.
As a result, 71 percent of respondents said they felt inflation strongly or very strongly in their household budgets. According to the research, the most significant increase is in energy prices. However, more than half of those surveyed also stated that inflation was felt during the holidays. Various price estimates also suggest that you should factor in heavy surcharges on airfare next year.
accumulating rather than consuming
Inflation is a stress test not just for individual households, but for the economy as a whole: 53 percent in the survey said they want to consume less and save more because of rising prices. 51 percent want to do without buying a car or other major purchase. “Because of rising interest rates, it makes more sense to fund an account again,” Comparis expert Michael Kuhn confirms.
Thanks to the increasing prices, shopping tourism is also gaining momentum. About 24 percent of them state that they are shopping abroad more and more in order to save money. In Ticino, which is close to the border, it is an enormous rate of 53 percent!