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LIFE IN NORWAY

What are the best ways to save money in Norway?

Norway can be expensive in many respects, but are there ways to reduce costs? We asked The Local Norway readers.

What are the best ways to save money in Norway?
Photo: MaksymKapliuk/Depositphotos

According to the latest report from the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat, Norway is still more expensive than any EU country

We received a lot of helpful tips via social media and email. Thank you to those who took the time to get in touch.

Online marketplace finn.no was cited as a good place to find wares including children’s’ clothes, furniture, kitchenware and sports equipment, as was Facebook’s marketplace section.

Scouting around for local flea markets (loppis) can also turn up good ways to save money on all sorts of everyday goods, social media commenters who live in Norway said, and secondhand stores (genbrug) were also frequently mentioned.

On Facebook, a number of commenters pointed out that sales and buying in bulk are effective ways to save money in Norway, as is looking out for reduced goods in stores.

“Look for the mini cooler in the back (of the supermarket),” one reader advised.

The Mattilbud app is a very easy way of keeping abreast of this, according to a reader who got in touch via our online survey.

Mattilbud is an aggregator which finds the best offers from Norway’s biggest supermarket chains and enables users to look them up conveniently. Offers at supermarkets including Rema 1000, Meny, Kiwi, Rimi, Joker, Spar, Bunnpris, Europris, Narvesen, 7-Eleven and Coop-owned stores such as Mega, Prix, Extra, Obs, Marked and Matkroken can all be found through the app.

Using local greengrocers (frukt og grønt) is another way to save money on food compared to regular supermarkets, one reader said via our online form.

Good deals on insurance and car services can be found through road recovery service NAF, one of our readers said.

Many pointed out that, to save money in Norway, some items or services must simply be cut down. Alcohol and eating out were by far the two most-commonly mentioned.

A few things are cheaper than you might expect given the general high level of prices, according to the responses we received.

Of these, fish and public transport were the two answers most people mentioned.

For one Facebook user, the best way for people in Norway to save money was even simpler: “(go to) Sweden”.

Although that may have been a humorous response, many did in fact recommend travelling abroad for specified services.

“I get my hair coloured and cut in Denmark. (For) beauty, spa, optical, dental, cosmetics, electronics… I (go to) Denmark or the continent,” an anonymous reader wrote to us.

Did we miss any good tips? Do you disagree with any of the advice in this article? Let us know — it would be great to get your input.

READ ALSO: Surprise! Norway not priciest place for food in Europe

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LIFE IN NORWAY

Have your say: Tell us your questions on Norway

Is there something in Norway you've always wondered about? Let us know, and we'll try to answer the best questions.

Have your say: Tell us your questions on Norway

Whether you’ve lived here for a while, just arrived, are moving soon, or have an interest in Norway, there’ll undoubtedly be a few questions that regularly spring to mind.

Whether it’s cultural, practical or something more left-field, feel free to ask (almost) anything. We’ll try to answer the best ones, or the ones with the most helpful answers for others, in a future article.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey below.

 

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