In Finland basic living costs more than in most countries. One needs an apartment with heating, healthy food and clothes (and shoes) fit to the season's weathers. If a Finn does not have a job or otherwise lacks money for these, the Finnish society pays them as cheap but ok versions. If one wants something more than the basic living, that is considered a motivation for work with a good wage.Of the unavoidable expenses home and food are the biggest ones, so if one manages to save money some part of those expenses, that is a big relief to one's economical situation.
The rent of an apartment is roughly determined by the number of rooms in it (the reason is the heating costs and the part of the house maintenance costs and snow ploughing costs). There should be as many rooms as there are people who live in the apartment, since that is the most pleasant way to live. And so that is what the society supports economically. A too big apartment takes your saving in a very short time, so if you need to save money, it would be important for you to immediately move to live in a small enough apartment in a nice area with the rent at the lower range, but not necessarily the cheapest since if you get tired with the apartment, you easily get other extra expenses. In choosing an apartment to live in it matters also what is the price level of the nearest food shop, which should be quite cheap or cheap.
The maney that goes to food should be in setting goals lower than what you have the money for, so that you have more money in spare for other things if you happen to need. If you eat only the cheapest, that is too much always the same food and so something in your body may get broken and then it is very expensive when you have to corect the diet, rest and cure the illness while you propably cannot go a longer distance to the cheapest shop. So even if you would eat cheaply, you should eat according to the food circle advice on correct diet and in varied ways, so the nearest food shop should be widely cheap enough and not just in few products. Especially in the city center some shops may be very expensive, likewise small shops in small palces. Instead of eating only the cheapest one should buy variedly, healthily and according to likings, weather, straiun etc from the cheaper end, for example cheapest and the second cheapest and allow part of the products of middle price for you to have variation and room for likings. If you leave room for failures in your budget, for example a chocolate bar once a week but preferable a few time sa week something extra, then it is easier for you to stay in budget.
Other almost unavoidable expenses like a phone, one ought to care for cheaply but taking care that there will not come extra costs because of the cheapness, for example from paying too late.
One can buy things cheaply from second hand. If one buys some part cheaply of what one needs, one has more likely money to buy something as new too. In this too it seem to apply that price level low enough, room for feelings, likings, one's values etc. but if something is too expensive or a part of a way of living that you don't have money for, don't buy it, or go to work...
