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I lived in Switzerland for six years with my late husband.When I came home to Canada, I continued treating my credit card like a debit card.I also value being open about money and respect choosing to rent instead of owning a home.
I was in my early 20s when my late husband, Remi, and I moved to Switzerland.
During our six years abroad, my North American eyes were opened to the wealthy country’s customs and financial system as well as the ways the Swiss manage their money.
Here are three of the biggest cultural financial differences I experienced in my time living and earning abroad, and the ways they impacted my money management .
1. My Swiss credit card functioned more like a debit card
Remi and I had a shared credit card linked to a joint bank account. Paying off your credit card to $0 every month is the fiscally responsible thing to do. In Switzerland, you almost have to.
Culturally, debt is looked down upon in Switzerland and is to be avoided at all costs. It’s ingrained in Swiss banking culture to pay off credit card debt to $0 every month. At the time we were living there many Swiss credit cards enforced this practice.
The Swiss credit card Remi and I had stipulated that if we didn’t pay it down to $0 by the monthly deadline, the bank would take the amount owed directly out of our account. In a sense, our credit card functioned more like a debit card with a little lag time.
I use my credit card more often in Canada, in part because to get good credit, you need to use credit. But, I still prioritize paying off my debt on time every month.
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2. Talking about money isn’t taboo in Switzerland
In North America, money is a taboo subject. There’s a lot of secrecy, shame, and even fear around money.
But, money is a fact of life. We need it to live. The Swiss, in general, tend to be very practical about money. Most storefront windows have prices clearly marked, so if you see something you like, you can get a sense of whether you can afford it before you even set foot in the store.
Tipping isn’t really a big part of the culture, and taxes work a little differently, so there’s much less guesswork involved; no need to pull up the calculator app on your phone.
I found it so refreshing that job postings in Switzerland clearly indicated salary ranges and pay bands. Why make compensation a secret? We don’t keep our work experience or education secret on our resumés (or CVs). I’ve internalized this frankness and believe it’s an important aspect of both financial literacy as well as financial empowerment.
3. Most Swiss people rent instead of buying homes
I grew up in Toronto believing I’d one day be able to afford to buy my own home. But now, Toronto regularly makes international headlines for its booming housing market, and house prices are out of control.
The affordable housing crisis rages on in cities across North America and many of my fellow millennials now see homeownership as being beyond their reach. In 2020, I left the city for small-town Ontario, in large part to buy a house.
In Switzerland, housing is expensive, but homeownership isn’t as culturally important as it is here.
I was surprised to learn that only a small percentage of Swiss own their homes or apartments. More than two-thirds of people in Switzerland rent, in stark contrast to patterns in the US, Canada, and the rest of Europe. Zurich and Geneva often make the list of the most expensive places to live, but so do New York City and Toronto.
I once went to a holiday party at my friend’s boyfriend’s flat in Zurich. Her boyfriend, a lawyer, lived with two roommates: a doctor and a professional gambler. I couldn’t understand why, in their early 30s, these three men would choose to live together instead of on their own.
But then I saw their flat.
It was incredible. They had the whole top floor of a building in a great neighborhood. They each had their own bedroom with an ensuite bathroom and access to a balcony that wrapped around the whole flat, with uninterrupted views of the lake and Alps. These young professionals rented together so they could afford an amazing place in one of the most expensive cities and countries in the world.
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