

The subject of "money" is taboo in Switzerland, but it affects us all. In this article, we will give you tips and tricks on how you can save your money useful and build up long-term assets in times of negative interest rates.
1. Get an overview
Often you don't know exactly where your money is going. To avoid this, you can start creating a budget. This is the first and most important step to get an overview. Write down your income and expenses for a month.
At the end of the month, you can go through your budget, and you'll quickly see where most of your money is going, where there is room for improvement, and how much of your salary you can save each month. For example, by reducing your coffee consumption or by quitting bad habits, such as smoking, you are doing your health and your wallet a favor.
Once you are aware of your financial situation, you can start putting some money aside each month. It is said that you should have at least 3-6 months of spending as a nest egg in case of sudden job loss, car repairs or similar incidents.
2. Saving in everyday life
In everyday life, money can be saved on many small things. A classic is fast food or restaurant visits.
A good alternative to going to a restaurant is cooking at home and taking it to work. This way you can save quite a bit of money. When shopping for the week, you can save again by going shopping just before the store closes. So, you can get reduced goods.
Another tip for weekly shopping is: Make a list before you go, so you avoid buying unnecessary groceries that you don't really need.
3. Save taxes
You can save quite a bit on taxes every year by investing in your private provision. Paying into pillar 3a is very popular. As an employee you can pay in a maximum of CHF 6826 and if you are self-employed even up to CHF 34'128 (max. 20% of the net income).
What is also a popular way to save taxes is to make additional payments for missing OASI contributions. Contribution gaps can form if you have been abroad for a longer period of time, have not paid any contributions during your studies or frequently change employers.
The health insurance and insurance premiums can also be deducted from the taxes, this is rewarded by the federal government and the canton. If you are not reimbursed for all expenses, you can state the costs of medication and therapy methods you have borne yourself.
In addition, you can also deduct your debt interest (such as loan interest with Crowd4Cash) of any kind up to a maximum of CHF 50,000.
4. Earn passive income
Passive income is defined as working or spending time on it once and then being able to earn money without actively working on it. An example of active income is our daily job, where we go every day and get paid for the work we do. Passive income, on the other hand, can be a book, for example, you have invested a lot of work and time in writing it. Once it's published, you don't have to actively work for it, but you still get paid for selling each book.
Popular ways to generate passive income are:
• Rental of real estate
• Earnings from a blog
• Earnings from a YouTube video
• Dividend distribution from stocks and ETFs
• Sale of Digital Products
• P2P lending
5. Set goals
Why do you want to save money? What are your savings goals?
Set yourself a goal, so it will be easier for you to save money. Whether it is for a car, vacation or for your retirement. A clear vision will make it easier for you to reach your goal.
6. Save consistently
The important thing is that you start putting some money into your savings account each month. Even if it's only a little. You can set up a standing order with the bank so that as soon as your salary is on your bank account, you can put some money aside and not spend it.
A little tip: Don't leave your money in a savings account for several years, as this can lose value as inflation rises. Instead, you can invest it. More on that in the next tip.
7. Invest for the long term
Mr. and Mrs. Swiss are conservative when it comes to investing and leave their money in private accounts. However, as mentioned above, this is unfavorable because the money loses value over time. Instead, it is recommended to invest instead of saving on the classic savings account.
What generates much more profit over the years is investing in ETFs, shares, P2P loans, cryptocurrencies, digital investment solutions, pillar 3a and much more.
Investing can, however, involves risks. We therefore recommend that you spread your money as widely as possible to reduce your risk.
With Crowd4Cash you can invest in loans and thus receive attractive interest rates. To reduce your risk, we recommend that you invest in several projects and thus spread your risk. By investing with us, you support SMEs, startups, and private individuals to make their dreams come true. You can find out more at https://crowd4cash.ch/invest-with-us.
Crowdlending has grown more and more in recent years. The “Marketplace Lending Report” shows that loans amounting to 18.5 billion have already been granted in 2021. This is 3.5x as much as in 2017. Continued growth is expected in the coming years.
Advantages of crowdlending at Crowd4Cash:
• Attractive risk /return profile
• Optimal diversification
• Best bad debt insurance
How much do the Swiss save on average?
A survey from the magazine "Bilanz", which was published in 2018, shows that the average Swiss citizen puts aside around 1285 francs a month. This puts the Swiss in second place worldwide with a savings rate of 18.8% (as of 2016). Only the Chinese population is better than the Swiss at 37.1% (as of 2015).
Globally, we have an above-average propensity to save, but this information depends on wages. From studies it can be concluded that 40% do not save and cannot save much because of the wages.
A survey in 2018 shows that more than half of Swiss people have cash as an investment, have most of their money in private and savings accounts and have a 3a account.
Hopefully this blog has been able to get you thinking and has one or two tips for you that you can incorporate into your everyday life.
Your Crowd4Cash team