The Russian media, all sorts of non-journalists and strange personalities who have visited Europe a couple of times, like to spread rumors about the savings of Europeans, exposing them as misers. How the Europeans are actually doing with savings and whether they can be called mean people - decide for yourself after studying the information in this article.
One of the biggest expenses in the budget of every family is communal payments. per month or 2400-3000 Euro per year. How can you save money on utilities, you ask?
I recently heard again how two Russian men were discussing what Czechs are beggars. To which I can object and ask a counter question: does the average Russian go on vacation 3-4 times a year? But the Czechs travel, and not only to the resorts of neighboring countries, but also to distant countries such as Brazil or Kenya. But they do not spend all their savings on vacation, but plan it thoroughly for the year ahead, and during the holidays they do not always go to restaurants and spend money.
Therefore, it is considered normal here to buy air tickets for sea holidays in September next year or book in May.
One of the advantages of early booking, in addition to low flight prices, is the ability to choose exactly the direction you want to go. With the receipt of permanent residence, we also sometimes began to buy discount tickets, for example, we see tickets somewhere in Italy for 5-10 Euros, we immediately buy them. And you can think over the route and book a hotel much later.
The Czechs are very simple and unpretentious people, so they can safely buy an uncomfortable sofa at home, which, moreover, does not match in color with the rest of the situation, the main thing is that the discount is bigger, for example 50-70%.
In addition to buying furniture on sale, another way to save money is to deliver furniture yourself. I have seen more than once how the Czechs drive up to the store in a car with a trailer and load furniture on it themselves and take it home. I know a wealthy Czech who has several apartments in Prague, a good job as an engineer, but he is rather stingy. Therefore, when buying furniture, he rents a trailer, and finds the cheapest option closer to home and goes to the store. In the store with his wife, he loads furniture into a trailer, then they go home, together with his wife they unload boxes that can weigh more than 50 kg, carry them home and, again, assemble furniture with his wife.
And I have seen more than once how men and their wives drag a heavy sofa or some kind of closet, well, don’t pay the loader!
Looking at the general condition of cars in the Czech Republic, you often come to quiet horror. For a Czech, a car is just a means of transportation, so the attitude towards it is often dismissive, i.e. the car may not be washed for months, not vacuumed, the oil in it does not change, but simply topped up. In winter, instead of a glass scraper, Czechs can use whatever comes to hand: keys, a piece of sharp plastic, a phone, and even a glass bottle. The Czechs are also dismissive of the car body. Few people repair minor scratches, dents, chips, because it will go like that.
With the purchase of equipment, things in the Czech Republic are as follows: most citizens buy new equipment when the old one has already completely fallen into disrepair, and it is very expensive to repair it. Therefore, even now, from time to time in transport, I see people with old Nokia phones.
One of important factors when choosing appliances, especially household appliances, this is an energy efficiency class. Class A and above are preferred.
As you know, Europeans do not scatter with gifts, the Czechs are also not particularly chic when buying gifts, even for such important holidays as Christmas or Birthday. For example, the average Czech spends the least on a Valentine's Day gift in Europe, namely 10 Euros.
Usually the most banal things act as a gift: a book, jewelry, home decorations, socks, perfumes. But recently I began to notice that more and more Czechs are buying a variety of equipment such as iPads, food processors, TVs before Christmas. I don’t know if they give this equipment as a gift or please their loved ones, but giant queues form in stores with equipment.
It was a shock to me that the Czechs, when billing them, behave like in a Turkish bazaar. For example, in the sports club where I went, there was no price list, and the amount of the monthly fee was set depending on how you agree with the manager. For example, I paid 1250 CZK, some guys 750 CZK, and one Englishman 2700 CZK for the same season tickets.
I decided to periodically check whether it is possible to get a discount on a particular service. And recently we got a price increase for our home Internet, we wrote a letter saying we didn't like the new price, and the ISP called back and we were able to negotiate a lower amount.
Banking services in normal banks are not cheap, and in the Czech Republic, some families open one account per family in order to save a little on this type of service.
Myths like: "Europeans don't wash their clothes" or "They flush in the toilet once a day" I think are inventions of pro-Russian channels that want to expose Europeans as misers. And I think that, again, only declassed elements of society that do not have a normal education and work can suffer like this. Normal Czechs, however, are alien to such savings.
I believe that many of the savings associated with wasteful use of resources are justified. For example, prudent use of water, electricity, and discounted groceries. And some examples of savings are hard for me to understand: an indifferent attitude to cars, choosing the cheapest clothes or cheap gifts. Just as I don’t understand some Czech acquaintances who moved to the cheapest odnushka on the outskirts of Prague and ate pasta and pate for a year in order to save up for a dream trip - around the world.
What do you think about these ways to save money?
How to wash in an English bath
All this sometimes annoys, but most often touches. English plumbing delivers much more inconvenience, causing endless surprise among outsiders. It's hard to see how anyone can comfortably wash their face under two separate hot and cold taps. Well, at home you can still imagine that you are collecting water in the sink and splashing in it. But such a division in the washbasins at railway stations, in restaurants, hostels, in a word, in public places, is not at all clear: the desire to splash in this case disappears altogether.
Further more. The traditional English bathroom (and on a national scale they make up the vast majority, the changes affected mainly the capital's hotels) also has two separate taps and no shower. According to the idea of this amazing people, it is necessary to fill the bath with water, fill the foam, soak up, wash your hair and get out without washing anything off. At the same time, hotels in which such bathrooms are replaced by modern showers are less in demand among local residents, the advertising specifically stipulates that the room has a traditional bathroom.
Dishes in houses are washed in the same way - water is collected in the sink, as in a basin, washing liquid is added to it, and so, without washing, in soapy stains, the dishes are put in the dryer. The Russian (and the rest of the European world) way of washing dishes under running water causes a counter bewilderment of the British: “What an unreasonable waste of water!”. Sometimes it seems that the British live in a waterless desert, and not on a green island. By the way, students of one of the British universities once calculated that when using a shower, water is spent no more than when it is taken into the bathroom, but this did not make any impression on the public. The youth that you take from it is hot, unreasonable, but it passes.
It is interesting that at one time in the 19th century England was the leader in the production of washbasins, bathtubs and toilet bowls, but it seems that, preserving traditions, since then it has not gone far ahead. It's funny that even in those cases when faucets are installed to please foreigners, they, if not Italian or Finnish, manage not to mix water, and as a result, not warm, but hot-cold water comes out of one tap, so to speak, which both burns and cools different places at the same time. The bidet, as a vulgar novelty, did not take root at all: in the words of one English publicist, the British are still convinced that this is a device for washing socks.
Similar difficulties exist in England with toilet bowls. In private hotels and boarding houses, a long, detailed instruction usually hangs in the toilet next to the toilet bowl, explaining to the guest the rules for draining water. This drain system has not yet been forgotten in Russia, although it is outdated throughout the Western world: a hanging tank with a chain that, if you pull hard, remains in your hands. The instruction often ends with a wonderful phrase: "Only after the final return of the lever to its original position, you can try again." And such repetitions are not rare.
The French, the main opponents of the British, who have the courage to criticize the latter (other nations prefer to remain silent so as not to get into trouble), believe that all this is done in order to create inconvenience for foreigners. The British themselves intuitively feel a deep connection between form and content: change one - the other will invariably change. The preservation of two faucets, a chain on the toilet bowl, the right steering wheel ultimately ensures their national integrity and protects national character traits in the context of total globalization.
By the way, there is one side of English life that cannot be passed over in silence and which, perhaps, will look rather contradictory against the background of the above criticism. These are public toilets, a phenomenon almost forgotten, unfortunately, by our compatriots. So, English has two features - there are a lot of them and they are clean. Everywhere: in public parks, on busy streets, in museums, at train stations, near major attractions, just in the centers of small towns - you can be calm: they are nearby.
Do not be surprised that late at night, for example, on the street of Shakespeare's Stratford, the lights of the establishment will be invitingly lit, which is not only open at such a late hour, but also snow-white and free. By the way, in England you can not open any institution Catering without a toilet equipped for visitors (which is logical; it is illogical to open numerous street pubs in Moscow without this). Toilets are available at all gas stations and large stores. And they work everywhere. The British generally have some concern about this. It seems that they visit the toilets much more often than other inhabitants of the planet. But for a wandering traveler, it is very convenient.
The Duke of Bedford, in his book How to Turn a Family Castle into a Palace Museum, devoted an entire chapter to the “toilet” theme: “People often ask me: how many Rembrandts do you need for a family home? Is a golden service required?
You don't need Rembrandts at all, and even less of a gold service.
Then what do you need first?
I can answer this question firmly, without the slightest hesitation: the first thing you need is good toilets, and in large quantities.
Gallery in a traditional English inn
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Utility Savings
“Saving water and electricity is in their blood. I think they are born with it. They do not have such that the light is on throughout the apartment. They are constantly monitoring this,” says Nina Sidorenko, an Italian immigrant. According to her, European thrift sometimes develops even into greed. For example, when Europeans take a shower, the water does not constantly flow. The Italian will go into the shower, get wet and turn off the water. Then he will soap himself and only after that he will turn on the shower again to wash himself. At the same time, they are sincerely surprised and outraged by the extravagance of people from former USSR who can stand under an open shower for half an hour just for fun. “Sometimes it gets ridiculous. Particularly economical Italians put a basin and collect water in it after a shower. And then they wash the floors in an apartment or house with this water, ”says Nina Sidorenko.
Similar thrift is typical of the Dutch. It is understandable, because you have to pay a lot for utility bills. For example, rent for a modest apartment is about 750 euros per month. At the same time, you have to pay 250-300 euros for utility bills, and even more during the heating season. “Bathrooms are rarely taken here - it turns out to be expensive. I know a couple of families where fathers chase daughters out of the shower, who, in their opinion, stand there for too long. They simply turn off the water for them to come out,” said Maria, who moved from Ukraine to Holland several years ago.
In addition to this, Europeans necessarily install “economical” plumbing in their homes. All their toilets are equipped with a double flush button: pressing one of them flushes only half a tank of water.
In addition, in order to save hot water, European housewives in last years actively use detergents and powders that dissolve in cold water and after which you do not need to rinse the dishes. At the same time, few of them use running water to wash dishes - this is considered squandering. Plates and cups are washed in a basin and only then washed with running water.
The practice of heating their homes deserves special attention. In many European apartments there is no central heating, individual double-circuit boilers work instead. And in the southern countries, for example in Italy, there is not even that. “They have “shtupy” - this is such an iron stove on wheels, like our potbelly stove. Only it is heated not with wood, but with gas from a cylinder, which is screwed to the stove. When the cold comes, they heat their premises with this stove, moving from room to room,” says Nina Sidorenko. The disadvantage of this heating method is obvious - if the stove is turned off, the heat quickly disappears. They do not heat it at night - it is not safe, so at night it becomes very cool in their rooms. But the Italians are not embarrassed. In order not to freeze, they actively insulate themselves: they sleep in pajamas on warm flannel underwear under thick winter blankets.
And, most importantly, the Europeans do not even think of not paying utilities. For them it is sacred. No delays or restructurings. The first thing that money is saved for from salaries, pensions and scholarships is for rent and a communal apartment.
"Hamster Week"
Dine in a cafe? Order pizza or sushi for lunch?! Most Europeans consider this an unaffordable luxury. “Many people bring home-cooked food with them. Or go to canteens with the company. Eating out at a cafe is expensive. It's not like in Ukraine - you can go out and have lunch for 40-60 UAH. In the Netherlands it is much more expensive,” says Dutchman Hans Ramaekers.
According to him, no one goes to expensive restaurants anymore - they prefer to look for more affordable establishments with good cuisine. Moreover, if earlier wealthy Dutch could afford to visit restaurants twice a month, now they limit themselves and arrange gourmet gastronomic holidays no more than once every 30 days.
At the same time, the middle class does not leave the house without sandwiches and drinks: why spend money on a snack somewhere in a cafe?
This is also true for residents of other EU countries. “Families with children first eat at home, and then go out. This saves a lot of money. And most people save money by not going out too often. If earlier they used to do this usually three times a month, now they are starting to go out only once,” says Dmitry Atanasov, 35, a resident of Sofia, Bulgaria.
Also among Bulgarians, a very common way to save money is the use of membership cards. The most popular in Bulgaria is the SCI card. Its owners can save up to 20% on bills in cafes and restaurants. There are also discount cards from telephone companies for local customers, discounts on credit cards- usually up to 10%.
In an effort to save money on food, Europeans simply love a variety of promotions from supermarkets. “A couple of times a quarter in the Dutch supermarkets “Alber Hein” the so-called “weeks of hamsters” are announced. So, people during these "hamster weeks" clog their refrigerators to capacity. Moreover, not only meat and fish are bought for the future, but even bread! They also put it in freezers and, as needed, take it out and defrost it simply in the air. Microwaves are not liked in Holland. After defrosting, the bread is very edible. Ukrainian bread would fall apart, but theirs would not,” says Maria.
Another way to save money in Europe is to stop buying groceries in one supermarket. “Many people buy products in different supermarkets - they are looking for discounts on different products. In one - vegetables, in the other - fish, in the third - meat and cheese. It works out cheaper this way,” says Hans Ramaekers.
Hungry holidays
Abundant and long feasts are not European. None of them cooks Olivier in buckets, with rich appetizers, drinks and a few hot dishes. Everything is much easier. Hospitable hosts may well put only chips and nuts on the table as snacks. And that doesn't bother anyone. There is another common practice - guests must bring their own food. “If guests are invited, then the host prepares one or two dishes, and the guests themselves bring the rest. Everyone comes with some kind of dish,” says Austrian Victoria Neumann.
Giving expensive gifts in Europe is also not accepted. For example, average cost a birthday gift is usually 10-15 euros, no more. Maybe less.
“If you go to a friend’s house and you know that there will be no food at this evening, you can give him a bottle of beer,” says Maria about Dutch customs.
Those invited to the wedding will have to fork out a little more. And then, if they go not only to the painting, where young people receive only flowers and verbal congratulations. Relatives of the newlyweds, invited to a feast in a cafe, should give the heroes of the occasion somewhere in the amount of 50-100 euros. “It is interesting that the newlyweds write down who gave them how much for the wedding, and when this person invites them to their own celebration, they are obliged to give him the same amount, no less,” says Nina Sidorenko.
And, of course, all Europeans are not averse to eating and taking a walk on the "ball". This is absolutely not considered shameful, and this feature is actively used by various sellers. “For example, a salesman in an Austrian furniture store strongly recommends that my husband come on his birthday and get a free portion of fried potatoes and a steak. And many come,” says Victoria Neumann.
A modest "trick"
Europeans, like Ukrainians, follow the dress code at work. But the requirement to change clothes every day is not at all necessary, although it is accepted in many countries. Office workers usually have two or three business suits in their wardrobe, no more. It is updated every season only by people with above-average incomes. Everyone else wears their clothes for several years in a row. The same goes for shoes. And no expensive fur coats that you can "shush" or expensive brands.
“All expensive brands like Versace or Max Mara are not listed. We are looking for clothes that are beautiful, but cheaper. And everyone is waiting for discounts. During this period, we buy 2-3 new clothes for the season,” says Hans Ramaekers.
In Italy, for example, the maximum discounts on clothes and shoes are announced before Christmas and on August 15th. At this time, all Italians spend money on new clothes, which are discounted by 70%, and sometimes all 90%.
And Europeans do not disdain second-hand. “The rich rarely go to second-hand, although they also run in to find interesting antiques. And the middle class, students and the poor buy almost everything there - clothes, furniture, curtains, and toys ... ”- says Maria.
But, despite its frugality, adjacent to stinginess, in Europe it is considered good form to help the poor and the needy. “It is customary for us to give clothes to relatives or to orphanages,” says Bulgarian Dmitry Atanasov.
And in Holland, in general, second-hand shops are run by volunteers. They send the money they receive for used clothes to good deeds: to children in Africa or to Ukrainian orphanages. Moreover, volunteer sellers do not receive any salaries for working at such second-hand shops. Here with it strictly.
Again we have to remember the notorious financial crisis. The reason for this is the need to save literally on everything, but it is difficult to frighten a Russian person with such a measure: there were times and more difficult. In principle, the Russians postpone for a rainy day already out of habit. Here's how to different countries save, interesting to know.
Each nation has not only its own national traditions, but its own ways of saving money. Sometimes the methods of saving different peoples are strikingly different from each other. However, there are nations that are simply not accustomed to save on anything.
You can learn about how they save in Europe using the example of Germans, French, Swedes or Italians. For example, in Sweden there are very thrifty people. It's not about the peculiarities of this nation, they just have a tough enough tax system and about 60% of the money earned goes to taxes! And we still scold our Tax code. In addition, utilities are very expensive in Sweden, taking another 20% of the family budget. But with all this, there is an advantage - free education.
The Swedes save quite simply, their way of saving can even be called an investment. Every month they set aside a certain amount to the savings account of their child, in order to give a large sum by the age of majority. In addition, gifts in the form of securities are common in Sweden.
Considering how the Germans save, we can conclude that this is the most economical nation. In Germany, as in other European countries ah, it is customary to save about 10-15% of earnings for a rainy day. It could be:
When visiting a supermarket, a German woman must first make a list of only necessary purchases (usually a week in advance).
Like many countries, Germany lives on credit: almost all Germans have a loan for a car or a house. Therefore, there is very little money left for food and other joys after the payment of mandatory payments. The main savings of the Germans is in the purchase of clothing. These people do not like to overpay for a brand, so they are happy to go to all kinds of sales and look into second-hand stores.
And here are some more interesting ways not to overpay that the Germans use:
How do the French save? Interesting and unique. France is a trendsetter. But, despite this, the French do not spend crazy money on buying clothes. Seasonal sales - that's what they even take days off from work. You can buy clothes from the sale with a decent discount, which reaches up to 70-80%.
The French were the first to come up with the idea of taking fellow travelers with them on long car trips in order to save money. There are even a number of sites on the Internet where you can find a companion to share your travel expenses with you. But what the French will never skimp on is food. For all their stinginess, the representatives of this nation are quite capable of squandering the money saved in a restaurant.
Here is a rough picture that will help you get an idea of how Europeans save and draw conclusions for themselves that will help not to waste money.
How do the Japanese save? Just like they do everything else - thoughtfully and methodically. In this country, it is customary to put a quarter of earnings into a piggy bank. This is mandatory and non-negotiable. Unlike old Europe, where both spouses determine the priority costs, here the way is different. Husband is a breadwinner, he brings money. The wife is the keeper, it is she who distributes the family financial flows and even allocates money to her husband for daily expenses. Every Japanese family keeps a ledger, diligently recording income and expenses incurred.
America is a land of contrasts. If in a number of European countries a teenager can count on the help of relatives, then American parents drive the idea of financial independence immediately after adulthood. What is left for the poor child? To save and save money, becoming mercantile to the limit.
The most profitable in this country is investing in your own real estate (apartment or house). You can buy large real estate only on credit, which, without a positive credit history won't give. That is why Americans take out so many loans that they try to pay off as quickly as possible - in order to create a good credit history. True, it doesn't work for everyone.
How do Americans save when the lion's share of mandatory payments is occupied by loan payments, followed by mandatory payments on health insurance? They do not save much on food, preferring not to overpay for buying clothes. In this regard, the Americans are an unassuming people. So the main savings come down to buying cheap clothes and a fairly simple image.
Here is a brief basic picture of how different nations save money in different countries. It remains to learn from experience and choose for yourself some interesting ways that will help you not to throw money away.
An Englishman shivering in a luxurious cold bed in the middle of a luxurious unheated bedroom is an image familiar from books and films. Those who consider this picture to have gone into the depths of time are mistaken.
Most of the British still do not heat in houses or heat very conditionally. On the one hand, they save. On the other hand, they are used to it. The logic of the inhabitants of Albion is ironclad: why turn on the heating at night when everyone is under warm blankets? Why bring the temperature in the house to summer if winter is on the calendar? A pair of warm sweaters is the solution. And when they crawl under the covers, they take a heating pad with hot water with them - everything turns out cheaper than heating.
The notorious separate faucets "mountains" and "hollow" have survived today only in English hotels. Exotic for tourists and a tribute to tradition. In most homes, there are quite modern faucets. Nevertheless, the British, out of habit (and again out of economy), wash themselves in water drawn into a plugged sink.
It is interesting that many people prefer to shower, having soaped up, not to waste water on rinsing, but simply to wipe off the foam with a towel. Many save water by watering their English lawn or flower bed with a watering can rather than a hose. So it leaves much less.
An interesting way to save money in English was ... turning a woman into a housewife until her child is twelve years old. English legislation is so intricately woven that it is often simply unprofitable for a mother to go to work - it is impossible to leave a child unattended until the age of 12, and kindergartens, school extensions and babysitting services cost such big money that the salary of a working mother may simply not be enough for this luxury.
The British are obsessed with saving money on travel by booking early. It makes sense - you can find profitable offer and pay for the road or the hotel half, or even two-thirds less.
The British save on clothes, but in a peculiar way - they buy very high-quality expensive things and try to ignore the penny consumer goods that spread after the first wash. Thus, they have few things, but they all serve for a long time and look great. The same attitude in this country to jewelry: neither a lady nor a gentleman will spend money on cheap tsatski.
The British manage to save money on entertainment as well. Contrary to the stereotype, the prim sir does not at all take his lady to the theater box every evening. He is more likely to find out where a free street performance is given or a free exhibition has opened. At worst, he will buy tickets an hour before the start of the performance with a significant discount. English museums also feel a special influx of thrifty visitors precisely on those days when visiting them is free.
