Many Swedish households have, in recent years, had to turn over their pennies in order to make everyday ends meet. This is because a number of expenses have become significantly larger than before when, for example, fuel prices have risen, electricity has become more expensive and mortgage interest rates have reached higher levels than in a long time.
On the Instagram account “Sparmakarna” shares Johan Persson33, and Karin Löf30, brings tips and advice to those who want to improve their personal finances.
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The high mortgage interest rates are one of several factors that have made life more expensive for many Swedes. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT
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Sparmakarna: “A lot is about planning”
According to Johan Persson and Karin Löf, there are several financial “sinkholes” that for the common man lead to unnecessarily large expenses.
– Food costs are something we often talk about and I read somewhere that it is the second largest expenditure item in Swedish households. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, we should spend around SEK 10,000 a month on food for our family. We put in half, i.e. around SEK 5,000 a month, Johan tells us News24 and continues:
– We eat a good breakfast, desserts, two cooked meals a day, supper and so on. Shall we eat some food? No. Are we buying bad food? No.
Food is even a big interest for the couple.
– We buy some organic goods, locally produced and the whole lot. We love to cook. Much is about planning and creativity. We often make large batches and freeze. Not primarily because it is the cheapest, but to free up time to spend even more time with our children and various projects. So, food costs are definitely a sinkhole.
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Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT “That behavior hits pretty hard in the long term”
Another pitfall is the small expenses that easily become many and thus expensive.
– We have noticed that many people think “but SEK 50 for a coffee, it can’t affect my finances in the long term”. But that particular behavior hits pretty hard in the long term. Especially if you zoom out on months or years. If you then start weaving in the stock market and interest-on-interest on that money, it will be large sums.
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