How do you make a budget in Switzerland? The five steps with reference values

To make a budget in Switzerland, start from monthly net income without the 13th salary, subtract fixed costs, variable costs and provisions for yearly expenses, and check every month what is left. For the main lines there are two references you should not mix: the planning values of Budgetberatung Schweiz and the measured averages of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).

Updated October 2026. Sources: Budgetberatung Schweiz, budget examples 2025/26, “Budget erstellen” and “Budget umsetzen” (in German); FSO (BFS), Household Budget Survey 2023 (in German, French and Italian); Serafe (viewed on 14 October 2026).

How do you make a budget in Switzerland?

A budget, or household budget, is a monthly plan that sets the income and the expenses of a household side by side and shows what is left at the end of the month. The pattern comes from Budgetberatung Schweiz, the Swiss umbrella association of budget counselling services: you start from net income without the 13th salary, subtract fixed costs, variable costs and provisions, and what remains is the available amount.

First collect the documents: payslips, rental contract, policies, subscriptions. The figures in the budget are your own; the values in the table below only show whether a line is out of proportion. Three complete budgets (single person, couple, family) are in the guide to monthly budget examples.

The five steps of a budget

You work through them in order, and the last step repeats every month.

1. Monthly net income, without the 13th salary. Write down what reaches your account each month with your pay, plus other regular income such as family allowances or a pension. The examples of Budgetberatung Schweiz start from net income without the 13th salary: the guide to the 13th salary in your budget explains why.
2. Fixed costs, as a monthly amount. Copy them from contracts and bills: housing with ancillary costs, health insurance (basic cover), household contents and liability insurance, phone, internet, TV and Serafe, electricity, public transport, taxes (leave them out if they are already withheld at source). Quarterly amounts are divided by 3, yearly amounts by 12: the Serafe fee, CHF 335 a year per private household in 2026 and CHF 312 from 1 January 2027 (serafe.ch), goes in as 335 ÷ 12 or 312 ÷ 12. The full list is in the guide to fixed costs.
3. Variable costs. These are the ones you decide: groceries, household extras (body care, detergents, waste disposal), clothes, hairdresser, leisure. For groceries start from the guideline value in the table and soon replace it with your own figure by tracking all your spending for a while, as Budgetberatung Schweiz advises.
4. Provisions. These are the expenses that come once a year or by surprise: deductible and co-payment (in the examples, the minimum deductible of CHF 300 for adults), dental and eye checks (no major treatment, no glasses), gifts, the unforeseen. Divide the yearly cost by 12 and put that amount aside every month, like a bill.
5. The check every month. Net income minus fixed costs, variable costs and provisions gives the available amount, which in the examples still has to cover meals out for work, supplementary insurance, pension provision, saving, a car, holidays and, in a family, childcare. If spending exceeds income, review the variable lines first. If you struggle to stay within your monthly budget, Budgetberatung Schweiz suggests dividing the monthly budget for household spending by 4.3 weeks, so you know the most you can spend each week.

How much for each line: the reference values

The two columns cannot be compared: the FSO measures against gross income, 13th salary included, and describes all households (2.07 people on average); Budgetberatung Schweiz plans from monthly net income without the 13th salary and does not consider differences between cantons. Use the average to see whether a line is out of proportion and the guideline value to set your own figure.

As a quick check at the end, many people use the 50-30-20 rule (50% of net income for needs, 30% for wants, 20% for saving): an international rule of thumb, not a Swiss standard. For how much to put aside each month, see the guide on how much to save per month.

The most common mistakes

• Counting the 13th salary as monthly income. The examples start from net income without the 13th salary; taxes, by contrast, are calculated on the full income, 13th salary and bonus included.
• Forgetting yearly or surprise costs. Deductible, dentist, gifts, yearly bills: on paper the month adds up, then the bill arrives.
• Copying someone else’s figures. Rents, taxes and premiums differ a lot between cantons, and the examples take into account neither that nor premium reductions: check whether you are entitled to one in your canton.
• Estimating groceries instead of measuring them. In the guideline values, groceries exclude restaurants, guests and alcohol; detergents and body care belong to household extras. Add up your receipts for one or two months.
• Making the budget only once. For Budgetberatung Schweiz, applying the budget in daily life is what counts: check every month and revise it when pay, rent or premiums change.

Tools: template, app, pen and paper

The right tool is the one you keep up to date every month.

• Free templates. Budgetberatung Schweiz offers free budget templates in Excel and PDF, also for apprentices and students; an Excel template in francs with a sheet for receipts is in the guide to the household budget template.
• Apps. A budgeting app or your bank’s spending overview records what goes out, but you decide how much each line gets.
• Pen and paper. One sheet with the five lines, rewritten at the start of the month.
• AI assistants. They can help you set up the lines, but recalculate the sums yourself and keep personal data out: see the ChatGPT budget planner guide.

Where to start today

The first step is the same with or without an app: write the first two lines, net income without the 13th salary and the fixed costs as a monthly amount. Then keep your grocery receipts for a month: they give you the real figure for the groceries line.

Rappn, a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview, helps with that last line: you photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand, and the app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average; you can export your receipts as PDF or CSV. Rappn covers groceries only: rent, insurance and taxes stay in your budget. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.