Everyday life in Finland

The things that make daily life in Finland smooth are small and unspoken. Here they are, spoken.

Loyalty cards

Two retail groups run most of the country. S-group (Prisma, S-market, Alepa, Sale, ABC petrol) gives you the S-Etukortti for a small one-time membership fee; it returns a bonus of one to five percent on all purchases and comes with the free S-Pankki bank account. K-group (K-Citymarket, K-Supermarket, K-Market) has the Plussa card, free. Lidl has an app. Take both cards; the cashier will ask for them at every purchase.

Waste and bottles

Every building sorts: bio (food), kartonki (cardboard), paperi (paper), lasi (glass), metalli (metal), muovi (plastic packaging), sekajäte (mixed). Electronics and batteries go to shops and collection points, furniture to the recycling centre (kierrätyskeskus or Sortti-asema). Bottles and cans carry a pantti (deposit) of ten to forty cents, returned at the machine by every supermarket entrance. Finns return every one.

Opening hours

Shops set their own hours; big supermarkets are open long hours seven days a week, small ones shorter. Offices and banks close mid-afternoon. On public holidays almost everything closes. Hours are always on the door and in the app; aukioloajat is the word to search.

Alcohol

Mild beer, cider and wine-based drinks up to a set strength are sold in supermarkets until 9 pm. Everything stronger comes from Alko, the state monopoly, which closes at 6 or 9 pm depending on the day, is closed on Sundays and holidays, and asks for ID under 30. Drinking in parks is legal and Vappu proves it; drinking on public transport is not.

Second-hand

Finland loves it. Tori.fi for everything, Fida, UFF and the Red Cross Kontti shops for clothes and furniture, Kierrätyskeskus in the capital region for cheap furniture, and flea markets (kirpputori) in every town. Furnishing a first apartment second-hand is normal, not poor.

Tipping

Not expected. Prices include service. Round up a taxi if you like; nobody waits for it.

Names, addresses and the letter box

Your name goes on the door and the letter box; the building manager arranges it. Post is delivered to the box in the door or the stairwell; parcels to lockers at the supermarket, opened with a code in the app.

The apps everyone uses

HSL or the local transport app, the bank app, MobilePay, Wolt and Foodora, Tori, Posti and Matkahuolto for parcels, 112 Suomi for emergencies with location, Omakanta for health, Suomi.fi for official mail. The full list is in essential apps.

Everyday Finnish