Let’s continue saving your money 😉
In the previous article I showed you how to avoid fasting and eat properly with the least damage to your wallet.
Here are some more tips on how to survive in this crazy country on a budget:
1. Reduce your transportation costs as much as you can (very important!)
The Swiss public transport is one of the best ones in the world, but it comes with it’s price. So if you need to travel further regularly than the canton (region) you’re living in (even 2-3 times per week counts), make sure you get a half-fare or even a “Verbundsabonnement” (allows you to travel unlimited within a given region, or with the GA even in whole Switzerland).
A Half-fare card will give you 50% discount on almost any public transport ticket . Despite the high cost (CHF 185, 120 if you are below 25 years old), this card will help you to save hundreds of Swiss Francs over time!
Moreover, if you are younger than 25, you can buy a “Gleis 7” (this option is available only if you have half-fare card) which will allow you to take trains FOR FREE everyday after 19:00 across whole country. Personally I think this is a great money-saver, especially if you like to travel.
More information about Swiss travelcards and offers from SBB here:
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/railpasses.html
2. One more about transport and travelling
Plan your trips in Switzerland in advance – or better plan everything in advance!
SBB always provides special deals for different destinations: buying supersaver tickets (“Sparticket”) for a specific train and time in advance will save you a lot of money.
Plus if you want to travel to another country and you want your trip to be really cheap: consider traveling by Flixbus. For example, the ticket from Zurich to Milan will cost you around CHF 16-17, or you can easily go to Munich for CHF 15-16.
3. Discounts for students and young people
If you’re a student or younger than thirty don’t hesitate to ask for special offers. Although usually in museums and galleries discounts for students are not that huge (about CHF 2-3 less), sometimes being a student can be very beneficial.
Majority of Swiss banks provide special offers for students and young professionals. Usually students can open a bank account for free at any Swiss bank.
Moreover you can save a ton of money by signing up for a health insurance for students – SwissCare. It is obligatory to have a health insurance for anyone living in Switzerland.
4. Don’t miss the traditional sale months
You can go crazy during the annual sales in January and July.
It is actually hard to miss because you can observe discounts up to 70-90% everywhere! And they are absolutely for everything.
That is the perfect time for buying clothes, furniture, gifts, jewelry, souvenirs, literally anything!
I have already created a “shopping list” for upcoming sale month. Have you? 🙂
5. Shopping across the border
If you don’t want (or can’t) wait till sale months, you can always go to another neighbouring country and go crazy there: in Germany, France and Italy prices for similar items can be half as much (big exception: electronic goods, you will hardly ever find a cheaper place unless you go to Paraguay, because taxes for those goods are really low in Switzerland). That is very easy if you live near the border, for example, in Geneva or Basel.
However during sales months prices for goods in Switzerland are usually 10-20% lower than in Germany or France.
That was it for today!
I hope these tricks can help you to save even more money and start enjoying this wonderful country to the fullest!
Feel free to add any tips you know and want to share 🙂
Have a nice weekend!
Bis bald!
