Bankruptcy and cost of living

Well, we had to file for bankruptcy again for the second time this month. Why, you ask? Because we had to put gas in the car. As painful as gas prices have been in the United States over the past couple of years, that's nothing compared to gas prices in Europe. They're about double what they are in the States. Today, we paid 1.75 Swiss francs per liter, which turns out to be about $6.50 per gallon. They make it very convenient, though. When you get your receipt for the gas, they just automatically print out a bankruptcy petition that you can file right there at the gas station. Very handy.

Overall, the cost of living here is, in a word, outrageous. I routinely have heart failure when I go shopping. Gas is just the beginning. I went to buy contact solution after I'd been here for a couple of weeks. A bottle that would cost me about $6 in the States was the equivalent of about $25. Yikes! Stace's Minnesota driver's license is about to expire, so she needs a Swiss license. That would cost about $25 in Minnesota. It will cost us about $130 here. Fortunately, my company gives me a cost of living allowance. When they first told me how much it was, I started salivating, and I thought, "Really? You'll pay me that much extra? We're gonna be rich!" Wrong. The amount is fair, but we go through cash a lot fast here than we would in the States. The Swiss even charge extra for ketchup at McDonald's. (Yes, there's a McDonald's here. Of course, it's about twice as expensive as in the States.)

I'll talk more about Swiss money in a later post. The bills they use are kinda cool. Before I do that, though, I'll have to figure out how to post pictures with the blog so you can see what I'm talking about.