My Monthly Budget in Finland

Ever wonder how much it costs to live in Finland? In this video, I break down my monthly budget and give a little bit of insight into life in Finland as it relates to the cost of living.
#finland #budget #livinginfinland #earlyretirement

[@just42tube]

Association type ownership arrangements for "condominiums" exist in Finland but are fairly rare. The legislation in Finland offers different arrangements of owning homes . The most common arrangement is a special type of a limited liability company, Asunto-osakeyhtiö (limited liability housings company). I very much suspect that you too are owning a group of shares is such a company, which give you rights and responsibilities including right to the possession of a specific apartment. In common speak people talk about owning an apartment. But in reality they own the shares of a company, which owns the property. The ownership of the group or set of shares gives the possession of the apartment. There is no association involved.

[@laterlife2931]

@just42tube we own shares of the limited company as you noted.

[@mikkomalinen2641]

Sounds pretty realistic. Number you came up with your suggested budget is almost exact the same as my pension after taxes. Hyvää kevättä!

[@laterlife2931]

@mikkomalinen2641 I think Finland has a reputation of being very expensive. It's certainly not as cheap as some countries but I think it is manageable if you are lucky enough to have a decent pension. So, lucky us.

[@mikkomalinen2641]

@@laterlife2931 Agreed 100%.

[@GGLEGO]

Thank you for your interesting video and openness! (Is that a word? Lol) I live in 70 squaremeter flat (2 bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathroom, hallway, walk-in closet type of storage room, and a spacious balcony) for 730 euros a month (in Rovaniemi, city of ~60k people, 3 kilometers from the city centre). The rent includes heating and water, electricity costs like 15-40€/month. Internet like 30 €/month. I spend around 800-900 euros a month for food and most necessities for myself and my two teenage children.

[@laterlife2931]

@GGLEGO I do want to spend more money on travel (in winter) so I am going to trim my expenses to be able to do that. :)

[@nordicmaria]

I found those numbers quite high. As for the eating out and entertaining, in our area, south pohjanmaa, people rarely go out to eat and most of entertaining is held at home. On the other hand I have noticed that in Helsinki people tend to NOT go to each others houses and prefer to meet up on the town.

[@laterlife2931]

@nordicmaria you are right. The numbers are on the high side and could probably come down by 20% in some parts of Finland. However, I live in the south and I think prices are a bit higher. Even in the south, prices would be lower in small towns and villages.

[@just42tube]

It's a very common part of "city life" all over the world to meet people and eat out since such services are the benefit of a more dense population. It's also true that the centers of bigger towns have wealthier inhabitants, who can afford to use such services. They are living in more expensive areas to enjoy using services.

[@just42tube]

​@@laterlife2931 Individual spending habits make a big difference. People who have money to spend use it. Others find ways not to need so much. Your budget is significantly above the median or average pension in Finland. But then again, their pension income is mostly handled by a significantly different system than your pension funds. They can also have other forms of social security like housing benefits, if their situation becomes difficult. They are also significantly older than you, if we are talking about old-age pensions. Some retire earlier than you did, but in Finland retiring mostly means retiring as you start to get old-age pension or are sick or injured and not fit to work. Some people just say that they are not employed and not working for income avoiding the word retired. People living on passive income or using their capital do that all the time without calling themselves retired.

[@lucone2937]

@@just42tube If you meet your friends in a cafe or a buffet restaurant in a lunchtime, it doesn't pay particularly much and nobody has to be a host for the other people. For instance in a cafe everybody can buy what they want and the main reason is to meet and talk with your friends. When I was a young man I spent many years in university cafeterias to have endless conversations with my fellow students, colleagues and friends. In summertime it is nice to meet people in outdoor cafes a in town square as well. I think it is quite common in all Finnish towns that have at least their own local universities, not only in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku.

[@just42tube]

@@lucone2937 Meeting at lunch in school restaurants is very common. Significantly subsidized lunch prices for students makes it very affordable. And the pricing in those places isn't high for others either. All higher education institutions have these benefits for their students in Finland. I am not so familiar with secondary or upper secondary education, but I assume there are similar systems. And of course from preschool to comprehensive schools lunch is provided for no costs to students.

[@JMoroccoMisterBoy]

Confusing ..... Good Man ..... Tks., much appreciative.

[@laterlife2931]

@JMoroccoMisterBoy, thanks for watching. Sorry it was confusing but that is very good feedback for me. I will try to be clearer in future videos.

[@just42tube]

Not all have small homes, but it depends on what you compare to. In some new apartment buildings there are facilities, often with sauna, which you rent to have a party for more people that would comfortably fit in your living room. There can also be studio apartments for your visitors so you don't necessarily have to have rooms for them in your own apartment or send them to a hotel nearby. Of course services like these come with cost. But compare to the costs of having a bigger apartment in the same neighborhood, such services are most likely good value.

[@laterlife2931]

@just42tube it makes sense about having different services in larger buildings. Here in a small city, those types of services don't exist. On the other hand, prices are cheaper so you can afford a larger property. I've just come back from the US (after a 4 year absence) so my perspectives have changed. Homes are so big there that things seem small here in comparison.

[@just42tube]

@@laterlife2931 US is a large and in some ways significantly diverse place. It's not as diverse in the same way as the EU is. You can fit 2.4 average-sized Hawaiian homes into the average Utah dwelling. It does make a difference. But you are right. Housing and building houses is proportionally and in absolute terms more expensive in Finland. Finland has also been a poor region which only in the last half a century has been able to approach better standards of living.

[@just42tube]

@@laterlife2931 Elderly people often move to regional centers to avoid clearing snow and maintain their homes. They also need more services which are more accessible in the centers. They often have to sell their larger family homes to afford to relocate to more expensive neighborhoods. But people who already had their family homes in the centers might stay there living as a couple or alone in their retirement. There are many elderly wealthier single city ladies outliving their spouses and staying alone in their bigger apartments in expensive neighborhoods. The average might be 2 rooms per person but these people can have many more in their home. In square feet that could be something in the order of 1500 to 2100, which would be about the average size in New York, USA.

[@just42tube]

@@laterlife2931 As an example from Lauttasaari, an island neighborhood next to the city centre of Helsinki. There is a flat for sale in a new block of flats called Linnahovi. The apartment has its own small private sauna and a private parking place is also for sale. The sales description includes among other things: "Linnahovi offers its residents wonderful common spaces and a courtyard area. The first floor has a fireplace lounge and a wonderful sauna section with a patio terrace. Residents have the opportunity to use a shared car. Lauttasaari has comprehensive services and excellent transport connections. For a resident who appreciates ease, the location is absolutely ideal: you are at the same time close to the city's services, but still close to the wonderful maritime environment."

[@just42tube]

@@laterlife2931 The ideas around zoning and building code regulations at least in most places in US are significantly different from Finland and EU as I understand the situation. I think you mentioned Orlando, FL. I have only stayed there in hotels and even that was a long time ago. California I have experienced more. When building homes climate makes a big difference in their construction but even bigger factor might be the political ideas behind zoning and building intentionally or unintentionally segregated neighborhoods instead of a more connected and shared society.

[@Turtti781]

well you should go taste JJ BBQ if you live in salo... we go there very year atleast once.

[@laterlife2931]

@Turtti781 of course I am a regular at JJ BBQ (but more so in the summer).

[@mukkaar]

Nice video! Hope you enjoy your retirement here :)

[@laterlife2931]

@mukkaar thanks. So far, so good!

[@Gibbetoo]

475€ for 65 square meter, heat and water included, i have to pay for power about 24€/month. northern Finland.

[@laterlife2931]

@Gibbetoo are you in a city (Oulu/Rovaniemi) or a small town? That's a good price either way.

[@Gibbetoo]

@@laterlife2931 small town.

[@Mayhem-pv9cc]

When you become Finnish enough, you can cut the budget 1/3. Gifts, hotels, eating out. Expensive stuff. I live in 1100€ per month. I don't have a car nor a license to drive one. Just my bicycle and a trailer for my dog. Do you really give gifts monthly to your family? Don't they have their own money considering that you are in retirement, so I assume that your kids are grownups.

[@laterlife2931]

@Mayhem-pv9cc I am already starting to trim the budget. I have listed my flat for rent (to save 500 per month). However, I plan to use those savings for travel over winter. I don't give gifts every month so I took the annual amount and divided by 12. I come from a big family so there are lots of opportunities to spend. I usually only buy gifts for nieces and nephews, not my siblings or parents. Now that you mention it, I need to think more about eating out. I could reduce that spend. 😃

[@mikeh2772]

Why the hell are you there fore...

[@laterlife2931]

My partner is Finnish.