Cost of living: many Swiss expect less money in their wallets in 2023

Many Swiss say they are going to have to tighten their belts © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Some 28% of Swiss expect to have less money in their wallets in 2023 than in the previous year, according to a survey. The main culprits are rising health insurance premiums as well as rent and mortgage interest rates.

In households with a low gross monthly income of up to CHF4,000 ($4,400), 38% expect to have to tighten their belts, the comparison service Comparis reported on Tuesday. Among households with a gross monthly income of CHF4,000 to CHF8,000, 30% expect a financial deterioration this year.

Broken down by language region, Ticino in particular is expecting a tighter budget: 39% of respondents there said they would have to cut back a lot. In French-speaking and German-speaking Switzerland, the figure was 19% each.

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In addition, according to Comparis, an urban-rural divide became visible: a quarter of the rural population said they had to turn over every franc. In the city and agglomeration, it was 18% and 17% respectively.

Clear gender difference

According to Comparis, there was also a clear difference between the sexes: 31% of women were convinced that they would have less money available in 2023 than last year. Among men, however, it was only 23%.

In order to save money, the respondents mainly refrained from unnecessary spending and impulse purchases. More conscious shopping with an eye for discounts and comparing prices was also the result. In addition, discounters gained in attractiveness. In Italian-speaking Switzerland, significantly more respondents (60%) said they would shop abroad if they were in a financial bind. The average for Switzerland as a whole was a quarter.

The survey was conducted by the market research institute Innofact on behalf of Comparis. In August 2023, 1,011 people from all over Switzerland were surveyed.

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