Depends on how much you travel with it. Last time I did the math for myself, the GA was the most interesting transportation setup for semi-regular trips in multiple locations connected to a main station.
It wasn’t for usage mainly directed toward commuting from and to the same points A and B each day of the week and some occasional other use (in that case, for my situation, a point to point combined with a half fare travel card was the more interesting option).
For short distance commutes, an electric bike (or other light mean of transportation) with an half fare for the occasional longer trip may be the cheaper option.
I go to Aldi and Lidl ib Suburbia in sad places in crappy locations and it saves me the trip to Thailand!
Honestly I don’t need to buy groceries in a fancy place. For me, shopping at Aldi when I could afford Coop makes me feel like a punk. (Punk as in non-conformity anti-consumerist)
To be honest, in my local Aldi vs. Migros I don’t see significant differences in price, apart from like 10-15% on (swiss-sourced) meat maybe.
And then each time it happens they don’t have (either temporarily or in general) 2/10 things I need - so I just give up and rather get all my stuff in one place.
Of course if the ultimate and absolute goal is savings, do it.
But I appreciate my luck in being able to balance it with my time and energy.
I usually buy it at Coop or Migros when it’s reduced down to 15-17.50/kg. 2 weeks ago Migros had Poulet 40-50% off, so I bought in bulk and put it in the freezer.
When I first came here I took some pictures of these prices to show to friends in Greece as I was sure they’d think I’m lying otherwise
Living in BL, we used to travel to Weil Am Rhein or St Louis for big shopping. Germany had 10-20% lower prices than CH while France was more of a mixed bag, but better quality and variety than Germany. We also claimed VAT back from Germany.
Gradually over 1.5 year it’s become obvious that both German and French prices have edged close to CH prices due to inflation, with more hassle, time commitment, and often inferior quality products. We have checked this idea with other foreigners who agree that going to Germany is becoming more of a hassle than a good idea. Personally I still go, but mainly for house/cleaning materials.
For standard shopping Aldi/Lidl/Denner are fine, for a bit better Coop and when we’re feeling fancy or have guests it’s Migros. Otto’s has cheap house stuff too.
Edit: @Cortana it’s none of my business, but I’d say “relax, you’re doing fine and will continue doing fine”.
The body’s needs are few: it wants to be free from cold, to banish hunger and thirst with nourishment; if we long for anything more we are exerting ourselves to serve our vices, not our needs. As far as I am concerned, I know that I have lost not wealth but distractions.
(On the shortness of life, Seneca)
When comparing the quality of products between Coop/Migros and LIDL/Aldi, here are a few insights that might be helpful.
First, regarding food safety, consider this example: if bacteria are detected in the production chain of prepared salads, all major retailers — Migros, Coop, LIDL, and Aldi—are required to pull those salads from their shelves. This indicates that they often rely on the same production chains.
As for Swiss meat, the market is highly concentrated, with two key players, Bell and Micarna, processing around 70% of the meat. The primary difference in meat quality comes from the country of origin and the associated production laws and practices. However, when it comes to Swiss meat, the processing mainly takes place in the same facilities, regardless of the retailer.
When it comes to branded products, you’ll notice significant price differences between the two categories of stores for the same items. But when it comes to private/own labels (Eigenmarke), studies by consumer associations have documented the quality of LIDL and Aldi’s offerings.
Finally, the main reason for price differences lies in the depth and variety of product ranges, along with economies of scale. LIDL and Aldi benefit greatly from their international reach, particularly in the production and pricing of their private/own label products. Furthermore, they consciously limit the depth and variety of product ranges to optimize the cost of their products and complement their basic offering with weekly thematic sales (mexican, greek, asian weeks, etc…).
I didn’t realise it was so short. I agree, stay at least 18 months and then try to get a payrise and look for new jobs at the same time to see which gives a better offer. If you start off low, it is normally difficult to get to a higher wage, you might need to change employer to make the jump in salary.
But I would re-iterate - while it is possible to save more, I wouldn’t do so at the expense of reducing your quality of life. If you can save more while maintaining your QoL, then go for it.
Everybody is different. Maybe some would value flying first class - others see that as wasteful and would rather put that money to something else and might get more value saving on the airfare and putting some of those savings to something else in the holiday - that way you save money and hopefully get same or more enjoyment from the holiday.
Is it just my imagination that Coop poulet from Bell tastes a lot better than anything Lidl/Aldi offer? I also like the Naturafarm Hackfleisch from Coop the most.
I was just at the SBB counter. I can get a special combination with TNW U-Abo (BS/BL and some parts of SO/AG) and the route from Rheinfelden to Baden for CHF 2’361 in total. Covering everything what I need. The ZH day pass costs CHF 14. If I go to Zurich once a week (extremely unlikely, maybe once or twice a month) this would be CHF 728 on top. Great deal.
The benefit of the GA is that you can go everywhere without thinking about it and the hassle of buying tickets. I remember when I cancelled my GA after using one for several years, I’d forget about buying tickets and got a couple of fines until I got back into the routine.
Then I moved closer to my job so can get everywhere by bike instead.
I know but that’s why I’ll have the U-Abo from TNW. It covers everything what I need regularly. I’m only mentioning Zurich because of my single status. I’ll probably look for a new partner in Basel anyway. Here what’s included:
Sounds like a good deal overall. Remember to still get the cheapest half fare plus offer for the remainder (you pay 800 you get 1000). It cant hurt. Worst case you get money back.
A few years ago, my female friends from Basel always used to come to Zurich to find men as there were so many more there (presumably due to the banking sector). Maybe the odds favour you looking in Basel!
I don’t know if you have to travel around for work, but if not, I would seriously consider moving close to work to avoid having to commute by public transport, not to save money, but to overall increase your quality of life and free time.
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Maybe my local Coops/Migros just suck.
