@@OurSwissAdventure Probably differs from kanton to kanton, but I signed my lease this week and there is a line, separate to the rent, which is Akonto - 80CHF. A guy told me it's a municipal tax but I won't put my hands on fire for him. Edit - Sorry, I'm an idiot, that might be the nebenkosten, or your bills monthly payment, as you mention.
Haha, no worries. I just had a quick google and found this website - www.mieterverband.ch/mv/mietrecht-beratung/ratgeber-mietrecht/top-themen/heiz-und-nebenkosten.html It talks about akonto as a fixed sum you pay (as you said for the nebenkosten) where you might get some money back at the end depending on usage. You never know, some cantons might have other types of charges - Switzerland is full of surprises!😂
Very informative video , I live in Ireland with my wife and 4 years old son and we pay 1500 for 2 bedroom apartment in a village close to Dublin. Our bills add up more 400 euros . Could you make a video about salary range based in your experience? Just wondering how much I have to earn as a family to live there in Neuchatêl. Tks
Hi! Whilst its a good video idea, in reality, unfortunately, it would be very hard for me to give any reliable numbers. I don't really know salaries of other people, let alone how much they spend to live well as a family. And because we don't have children, I wouldn't want to give numbers based on our experience as a couple. If you are truly interested in knowing this, I would recommend that you find a group of expats on FB in the area that you might wanna live in. For example, for Neuchatel the group is called "Expats in Neuchâtel". Then you can post your question there, asking for responses from people in the similar situation to yours (2 adults + a child). In general people tend to be really helpful in those kind of groups and you should get a good variety of answers, to make up an overall range.🙂
These costs are much lower than I would have expected. I live in the US and an average rent is $, electricity,$250; laundry ( depending on family size) $30 weekly, taxes ( on my house ) $2600; house insurance $4200 ( this includes trash) , internet $130 monthly, most have a water bill ( I have a well) $100 monthly, electricity $250 monthly and TV is approximately 125, depending on plan monthly. It seems like Switzerland isn’t horrible unless you have a low wage system. Here minimum is less than $10 hr, and that’s of course before taxes! Interesting how to compare monthly expenses elsewhere! Thanks for sharing.
The one we have (Salt) is unlimited. However, after some amount of data used the speed goes down. I can't find what that amount is in our contract. However, for the newest Surf Unlimited offer they have on the website it says: Mobile data in Switzerland up to max. 500 GB per month, then speed reduction to 256 kbit/s. (Just for a reference, we have never used more than 130Gb per month). But just to say about their SIM based internet in general - it's not the fastest. It's enough if you just use it to browse the internet, watch some Netflix, etc. But we've noticed that it can be temperamental in bad weather (fog or storms, for example). So if you need fast internet that works well 100% of the time, that you can use for gaming and doing multiple Zoom calls at the same time, then maybe pick something else.🙂
I'm def over paying for mine in Basel, because it is also 2 rooms flat but is smaller than yours and with a Balcony, good thing is brand new, but I know that I could get a bigger one maybe with 3 or 4 rooms at the same price and on the same area. Love your videos, very useful info.
Thanks for watching!😊 Hmm, I've actually noticed that sometimes there could be a big difference between similar flats in the same area. For example recently there was the exact same apartment available to rent in a different block of our building, but the rent was about 200CHF more than ours🙈 which makes no sense.. But I guess what's most important is whether you are happy about your apartment🙂
I'm not sure which place you mean, sorry. But you can look up rental apartments here - en.comparis.ch/immobilien/default Just pick your desired location and the size of the flat and you should be able to see what is the range of prices for renting there.🙂
Wow, you’re so organized. I have no idea how much we spend in a year. 🙉 You have to pay garbage fee in Neuchatel. Interesting. Here in Lucerne it is paid through buying those overpriced blue garbage bags. I thought it is the same in all Switzerland, but now I see it’s not.
Haha thanks, but the only reason I could gather all the info is because Swiss send letters with paper bills for everything. 😂 Ah, no, here we have to both pay the garbage tax AND buy the 2CHF official bin bags!😂 Looks like we get charged twice here in Neuchâtel..
@@OurSwissAdventure Tcino same, tax(it can be between 50 to 100 fr, depends on the council) plus the bag, it's goes from 0.90 cts to 1.20 cts a bag(35liters) still depends on the council, we used last year around 45 bags 1.10cts each😂😂we are 2 in a 2.5 flat
Neuchatel is a lovely place The rents will go up as you get closer to Geneva Do not underestimate the cost of living here if you are thinking about moving
Thanks!! Where do you come from exactly? How much can new furnitures cost in Switzerland?. And a curiosity;are the french Swiss friendly to foreigners?
I am from Latvia originally. 🙂 For the furniture, it depends where you buy it from and how much you need. Many people tend to buy it from IKEA here, since it's the cheapest and most convenient option. I made a video about buying second hand furniture and then comparing it to how much it would've cost new. Check it out here - ua-cam.com/video/iZKfcpuXAwU/v-deo.html Since most of our furniture was originally from IKEA, I think it would give you a good indication for furniture costs. I would say that in general they are quite neutral and polite towards foreigners. If you get to know them, they can open up, become more friendly (and actually become your friends), but it can take some time for that to happen.
Hi, very great information. I can't find detailed information about the salt sim with "only data". If you put it into a mobile can you recieve calls? Or make some calls at high prices. Would be very interesting because maybe I do 3 calls at month and only I use data and recieve some calls. Thanks for the video and your time! 😁
Hi! Glad the video was helpful! I'm not 100% sure, I know that it has a number, since it is a SIM card. But on the website it does say it's 'data only'.. I would recommend you either go to one of the Salt stores or write to them via the online contact form. As for the phone sim, we are in a similar situation, that's why we both have Lyca mobile top up card. You can just top it up whenever you run out of money, or, get a monthly internet bundle (which you don't have to renew, if you don't need it) and have some top up as well to use for those 3 calls a month.😁 You can order the sim card by post and buy top up via the app or from any shop/kiosk.
Your apartment looks great! Hope you love Switzerland! I am an artist and I like to share my painting demos and studio tours here. So much variety and fun times on UA-cam!
Thank you! Yes, it's really beautiful here! So are your paintings😉 I think you'd find Swiss nature and alpine meadows very inspirational.🖌 Good luck with your channel!
Welcome! I have visited Europe twice and hope to visit again sometime. Switzerland would definitely be on my next list to visit. Thank you and I wish you all the best with your channel!
Thank you for this video! It was really useful. One question I have is how much did it cost in general, one year in switzerland. I mean groceries, transportation + this cost (apartment) in a year. Just an average.
@Eu Be That's really hard to say, since it depends a lot on your lifestyle, family size, where you live etc. I want to make a video about this actually, if I can gather all the numbers. 😂 But if we are talking basics for the two of us, say the flat+food+transport+health insurance, it comes it around 2,800CHF per month. Then add all the extra things, it probably ends up being between 3 and 4 thousand CHF per month. In general, we are not huge spenders, we don't buy a lot of clothes or other stuff like that, so I would say we are a fairly low-budget couple haha!😂 I hope this gives you a guide.🙂
Hi, normally the dryer work in the same time with the washing machine, and never forget we are a federation not all is the same, but electricity we spend much more than Erika(400), and she's very wise with internet, check lycamobile for international and national bundle, I'm using now a 3 months national bundle for 12 fr x month, for the garbage you forgot probably how much you pay for garbage bag👍👍👋👋😊😊
@@pippopapero5373 Thanks for tips! Yes, that's true, there could be quite a lot of variation depending on the canton. That's interesting to know about (electricity costs). I think maybe we don't spend much on electricity because we only have two rooms, no dishwasher, and the flat is facing the sunny side, so in summer the lights are rarely on. We actually use Lycamobile too! It's great way the save money too! Plus as we can carry out internet with us when we travel, we don't actually need to use internet data. I think we probably paid under 100CHF for the garbage bags in a year, since we recycle and compost most of our waste.☺️
The dryer fee is 4.40. And yes diff canton and diff flats might have different charges too. Anyway, you have been doing a great job in sharing all these info about Swiss. Well done
I just started a channel with my wife to do some sharing about life in Geneva too. Feel free to check us out and subscribe if interested in different insights about the life here 😇
Thanks for all the videos these are very informative. Would you recommend to move to Switzerland and look for a job there? I’m currently live in Dublin and me and my wife are planning to move there but we don’t know if this is the wisest thing to do. Thanks again 😁
@@OurSwissAdventure we think our time in Dublin is coming to an end. We have lived already in different places and we are looking for that place we can call home and also looking for new adventures 😅. But Switzerland can be quite expensive and going there without a secured job can be daunting 😣
Hi Nanossx I'm afraid the answer is not so straightforward, it depends on a lot of factors: do you have EU citizenship, Swiss family members, a job in Switzerland? It's becoming increasingly difficult for UK residents to move to Switzerland now because of Brexit and quotas in the visas that will allow you to stay in Switzerland. Unless you have EU citizenship I would advise that you secured a job in Switzerland first before moving there :)
@@juliac6471 Hi Julia thanks for taking the time to answer. Yes I have EU citizenship and my wife is Colombian but because we are married she can get all the benefits as I will. So to get the residency wouldn't be a problem. My concern is how "easy" can be to get a job due how expensive Switzerland can be and more during this time with the pandemic.
@@Nanossx182 I see, I don't know how the job market looks outside of healthcare but I would look for jobs on websites such as reed, indeed, linked in. If you know what company/employer you would like to work for I would just contact them directly via email through customer service or HR and send a well written cover letter and up to date CV in one of the official languages of the country (French, German or Italian) unless the job advert/job can be performed in English/other acceptable language. Most employers require at least B2 level in an official language before they consider you for an interview. You just have to try and apply anywhere and everywhere you can really, depending on the job you're looking for and how competitive it can be it's not uncommon to only land 1-2 interviews for every 50+ applications you make but you have to persevere!
Hi! Thank you for all the great content, I’m slowly working my way through all your videos! I’m sorry if I missed this in the video but when you mentioned the average rent in each canton, what is the measurement of this? Is it on the basis of a 1br flat or is that the average of all apartments taking into account the cheapest flat share up to a mansion? I will be relocating to Zug in May & I’m looking for a 3.5br or above, I would love to know where in Zug I can find a flat for 1800 (+ adjusted for inflation)! I must be looking at all the wrong websites! :)
Hi! Thanks for watching and glad you are enjoying the videos!🙂 If you go via this link, you'll see there is a map that shows average rent for 3-4 room places. www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/construction-logement/logements/logements-locataires.html I guess you are struggling to find something that cheap, hence the question?😅 I reckon in these average rent calculations they have included places all around the canton, so the rent in the villages would obviously lower the overall cantonal average. I'm not sure how exactly they sampled their values. As in, did they take the same amount of rents from each town, or did it proportionally based on the amount of people that live in each town. I tried to find that info on the statistics office website, but could see any explanation.
No setting up like that needed, they just give you a little portable Huawei router, the basic one is free as part of the contract. You might be able to use your router, if it has a SIM slot, but I'd still recommend taking the one they give you, since it's very small and you can easily take it around with you when needed.
@@emailacct3657 if it's the 17.50 instead of the 35CHF/month promo, they might run it again, that seems their forever-ongoing promo 😅 Maybe there's a way around it, like emailing them and asking if you can sign up somehow earlier when the offer is still on.
Do you have any questions about renting, bills, deposits or any other related topics? Let me know in the comments down below!😉
Thank you for all the valuable information!
You are welcome!😊
Thanks for this. Isn't there some sort of council tax?
Not that I know of; I feel like council tax is a very UK thing
@@OurSwissAdventure Probably differs from kanton to kanton, but I signed my lease this week and there is a line, separate to the rent, which is Akonto - 80CHF. A guy told me it's a municipal tax but I won't put my hands on fire for him.
Edit - Sorry, I'm an idiot, that might be the nebenkosten, or your bills monthly payment, as you mention.
Haha, no worries. I just had a quick google and found this website - www.mieterverband.ch/mv/mietrecht-beratung/ratgeber-mietrecht/top-themen/heiz-und-nebenkosten.html It talks about akonto as a fixed sum you pay (as you said for the nebenkosten) where you might get some money back at the end depending on usage.
You never know, some cantons might have other types of charges - Switzerland is full of surprises!😂
Very informative video , I live in Ireland with my wife and 4 years old son and we pay 1500 for 2 bedroom apartment in a village close to Dublin. Our bills add up more 400 euros .
Could you make a video about salary range based in your experience? Just wondering how much I have to earn as a family to live there in Neuchatêl. Tks
Hi! Whilst its a good video idea, in reality, unfortunately, it would be very hard for me to give any reliable numbers. I don't really know salaries of other people, let alone how much they spend to live well as a family. And because we don't have children, I wouldn't want to give numbers based on our experience as a couple.
If you are truly interested in knowing this, I would recommend that you find a group of expats on FB in the area that you might wanna live in. For example, for Neuchatel the group is called "Expats in Neuchâtel". Then you can post your question there, asking for responses from people in the similar situation to yours (2 adults + a child). In general people tend to be really helpful in those kind of groups and you should get a good variety of answers, to make up an overall range.🙂
These costs are much lower than I would have expected. I live in the US and an average rent is $, electricity,$250; laundry ( depending on family size) $30 weekly, taxes ( on my house ) $2600; house insurance $4200 ( this includes trash) , internet $130 monthly, most have a water bill ( I have a well) $100 monthly, electricity $250 monthly and TV is approximately 125, depending on plan monthly. It seems like Switzerland isn’t horrible unless you have a low wage system. Here minimum is less than $10 hr, and that’s of course before taxes! Interesting how to compare monthly expenses elsewhere! Thanks for sharing.
Is the total volume of the sim based Internet not quite limited?
The one we have (Salt) is unlimited. However, after some amount of data used the speed goes down. I can't find what that amount is in our contract. However, for the newest Surf Unlimited offer they have on the website it says: Mobile data in Switzerland up to max. 500 GB per month, then speed reduction to 256 kbit/s. (Just for a reference, we have never used more than 130Gb per month).
But just to say about their SIM based internet in general - it's not the fastest. It's enough if you just use it to browse the internet, watch some Netflix, etc. But we've noticed that it can be temperamental in bad weather (fog or storms, for example). So if you need fast internet that works well 100% of the time, that you can use for gaming and doing multiple Zoom calls at the same time, then maybe pick something else.🙂
I'm def over paying for mine in Basel, because it is also 2 rooms flat but is smaller than yours and with a Balcony, good thing is brand new, but I know that I could get a bigger one maybe with 3 or 4 rooms at the same price and on the same area. Love your videos, very useful info.
Thanks for watching!😊
Hmm, I've actually noticed that sometimes there could be a big difference between similar flats in the same area. For example recently there was the exact same apartment available to rent in a different block of our building, but the rent was about 200CHF more than ours🙈 which makes no sense..
But I guess what's most important is whether you are happy about your apartment🙂
How much is avarage rent in buch
I'm not sure which place you mean, sorry. But you can look up rental apartments here - en.comparis.ch/immobilien/default Just pick your desired location and the size of the flat and you should be able to see what is the range of prices for renting there.🙂
@@OurSwissAdventure it is a town called buch. Near the border of lichteintein
I never heard of the garbage removal tax before. Usually you pay money for the garbage bags and these include the garbage bag pickup and disposal.
We have in Ticino
It looks like in some cantons it exists and in some it doesn't 😅 Just to make life here a bit more confusing hehe
Wow, you’re so organized. I have no idea how much we spend in a year. 🙉
You have to pay garbage fee in Neuchatel. Interesting. Here in Lucerne it is paid through buying those overpriced blue garbage bags. I thought it is the same in all Switzerland, but now I see it’s not.
Haha thanks, but the only reason I could gather all the info is because Swiss send letters with paper bills for everything. 😂
Ah, no, here we have to both pay the garbage tax AND buy the 2CHF official bin bags!😂 Looks like we get charged twice here in Neuchâtel..
@@OurSwissAdventure Tcino same, tax(it can be between 50 to 100 fr, depends on the council) plus the bag, it's goes from 0.90 cts to 1.20 cts a bag(35liters) still depends on the council, we used last year around 45 bags 1.10cts each😂😂we are 2 in a 2.5 flat
@@OurSwissAdventure Heheh, that’s true. 😂😃 Really? That’s a bummer. 👎
@@pippopapero5373 Looks like here the tax and the bags are more expensive, we are lucky hey!🤣🤣
Neuchatel is a lovely place
The rents will go up as you get closer to Geneva
Do not underestimate the cost of living here if you are thinking about moving
True! 🙂 So at the moment we have no intention of moving away from here.
Hi, very helpful detailed list of living expenses. Merci 🌻
Glad you found it helpful!😊
Thanks!! Where do you come from exactly? How much can new furnitures cost in Switzerland?. And a curiosity;are the french Swiss friendly to foreigners?
I am from Latvia originally. 🙂
For the furniture, it depends where you buy it from and how much you need. Many people tend to buy it from IKEA here, since it's the cheapest and most convenient option. I made a video about buying second hand furniture and then comparing it to how much it would've cost new. Check it out here - ua-cam.com/video/iZKfcpuXAwU/v-deo.html Since most of our furniture was originally from IKEA, I think it would give you a good indication for furniture costs.
I would say that in general they are quite neutral and polite towards foreigners. If you get to know them, they can open up, become more friendly (and actually become your friends), but it can take some time for that to happen.
@@OurSwissAdventure tks much💙
Hi, very great information. I can't find detailed information about the salt sim with "only data". If you put it into a mobile can you recieve calls? Or make some calls at high prices. Would be very interesting because maybe I do 3 calls at month and only I use data and recieve some calls. Thanks for the video and your time! 😁
Hi! Glad the video was helpful!
I'm not 100% sure, I know that it has a number, since it is a SIM card. But on the website it does say it's 'data only'.. I would recommend you either go to one of the Salt stores or write to them via the online contact form.
As for the phone sim, we are in a similar situation, that's why we both have Lyca mobile top up card. You can just top it up whenever you run out of money, or, get a monthly internet bundle (which you don't have to renew, if you don't need it) and have some top up as well to use for those 3 calls a month.😁 You can order the sim card by post and buy top up via the app or from any shop/kiosk.
@@OurSwissAdventure Great, thanks for the suggestion, seems very good combination! I will need to squeeze every swiss franc when I will arrive 😅
@@cristianmera3761 haha, understandably so!😅 I have a video about money saving tips, you might want to check it out as well👍😁
Your apartment looks great! Hope you love Switzerland! I am an artist and I like to share my painting demos and studio tours here. So much variety and fun times on UA-cam!
Thank you! Yes, it's really beautiful here! So are your paintings😉 I think you'd find Swiss nature and alpine meadows very inspirational.🖌 Good luck with your channel!
Welcome! I have visited Europe twice and hope to visit again sometime. Switzerland would definitely be on my next list to visit. Thank you and I wish you all the best with your channel!
Hope you get a chance to visit it again soon. Thank you!😊
Thank you! I hope so and welcome!
Thank you for this video! It was really useful. One question I have is how much did it cost in general, one year in switzerland. I mean groceries, transportation + this cost (apartment) in a year. Just an average.
@Eu Be That's really hard to say, since it depends a lot on your lifestyle, family size, where you live etc. I want to make a video about this actually, if I can gather all the numbers. 😂
But if we are talking basics for the two of us, say the flat+food+transport+health insurance, it comes it around 2,800CHF per month. Then add all the extra things, it probably ends up being between 3 and 4 thousand CHF per month. In general, we are not huge spenders, we don't buy a lot of clothes or other stuff like that, so I would say we are a fairly low-budget couple haha!😂
I hope this gives you a guide.🙂
@@OurSwissAdventure Thank you for the reply!
@@eube1460 You're welcome!☺️
In Fribourg you pay the garbage by weight !!
Interesting, how does that work?
How to find rent apartments
en.comparis.ch/immobilien/default
7.50 franc for laundry per month 😬 in Geneva here we got charged for 4.80 for one time washing machine use
Whaaat!? That's crazy! What about the drier?
I think here it's something like 2.30 per hour on the washer and 2.50 on the drier.
Hi, normally the dryer work in the same time with the washing machine, and never forget we are a federation not all is the same, but electricity we spend much more than Erika(400), and she's very wise with internet, check lycamobile for international and national bundle, I'm using now a 3 months national bundle for 12 fr x month, for the garbage you forgot probably how much you pay for garbage bag👍👍👋👋😊😊
@@pippopapero5373 Thanks for tips!
Yes, that's true, there could be quite a lot of variation depending on the canton.
That's interesting to know about (electricity costs). I think maybe we don't spend much on electricity because we only have two rooms, no dishwasher, and the flat is facing the sunny side, so in summer the lights are rarely on.
We actually use Lycamobile too! It's great way the save money too! Plus as we can carry out internet with us when we travel, we don't actually need to use internet data.
I think we probably paid under 100CHF for the garbage bags in a year, since we recycle and compost most of our waste.☺️
The dryer fee is 4.40. And yes diff canton and diff flats might have different charges too. Anyway, you have been doing a great job in sharing all these info about Swiss. Well done
I just started a channel with my wife to do some sharing about life in Geneva too. Feel free to check us out and subscribe if interested in different insights about the life here 😇
And how much does it cost per month for that DELIGHTFUL poinsettia? 🌺
For you it's priceless 😅
Thanks for all the videos these are very informative. Would you recommend to move to Switzerland and look for a job there? I’m currently live in Dublin and me and my wife are planning to move there but we don’t know if this is the wisest thing to do. Thanks again 😁
Thank you, I'm glad you are finding them useful!☺️
Hmm, that's a complicated question!😅 What would be the main reason why you want to move here?
@@OurSwissAdventure we think our time in Dublin is coming to an end. We have lived already in different places and we are looking for that place we can call home and also looking for new adventures 😅. But Switzerland can be quite expensive and going there without a secured job can be daunting 😣
Hi Nanossx I'm afraid the answer is not so straightforward, it depends on a lot of factors: do you have EU citizenship, Swiss family members, a job in Switzerland? It's becoming increasingly difficult for UK residents to move to Switzerland now because of Brexit and quotas in the visas that will allow you to stay in Switzerland. Unless you have EU citizenship I would advise that you secured a job in Switzerland first before moving there :)
@@juliac6471 Hi Julia thanks for taking the time to answer. Yes I have EU citizenship and my wife is Colombian but because we are married she can get all the benefits as I will. So to get the residency wouldn't be a problem. My concern is how "easy" can be to get a job due how expensive Switzerland can be and more during this time with the pandemic.
@@Nanossx182 I see, I don't know how the job market looks outside of healthcare but I would look for jobs on websites such as reed, indeed, linked in. If you know what company/employer you would like to work for I would just contact them directly via email through customer service or HR and send a well written cover letter and up to date CV in one of the official languages of the country (French, German or Italian) unless the job advert/job can be performed in English/other acceptable language. Most employers require at least B2 level in an official language before they consider you for an interview. You just have to try and apply anywhere and everywhere you can really, depending on the job you're looking for and how competitive it can be it's not uncommon to only land 1-2 interviews for every 50+ applications you make but you have to persevere!
Hi! Thank you for all the great content, I’m slowly working my way through all your videos!
I’m sorry if I missed this in the video but when you mentioned the average rent in each canton, what is the measurement of this? Is it on the basis of a 1br flat or is that the average of all apartments taking into account the cheapest flat share up to a mansion?
I will be relocating to Zug in May & I’m looking for a 3.5br or above, I would love to know where in Zug I can find a flat for 1800 (+ adjusted for inflation)! I must be looking at all the wrong websites! :)
Hi! Thanks for watching and glad you are enjoying the videos!🙂
If you go via this link, you'll see there is a map that shows average rent for 3-4 room places. www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/fr/home/statistiques/construction-logement/logements/logements-locataires.html
I guess you are struggling to find something that cheap, hence the question?😅
I reckon in these average rent calculations they have included places all around the canton, so the rent in the villages would obviously lower the overall cantonal average. I'm not sure how exactly they sampled their values. As in, did they take the same amount of rents from each town, or did it proportionally based on the amount of people that live in each town. I tried to find that info on the statistics office website, but could see any explanation.
SALT internet, useful tip! Do they need to set up anything in my flat? I have my own router should I bring it?
No setting up like that needed, they just give you a little portable Huawei router, the basic one is free as part of the contract. You might be able to use your router, if it has a SIM slot, but I'd still recommend taking the one they give you, since it's very small and you can easily take it around with you when needed.
@@OurSwissAdventure thanks one less thing to pack, and one more thing to sell. Cheers
@@emailacct3657 haha, you're welcome 😅 Good luck with the move!
@@OurSwissAdventure just on the SALT site now, I see they have a promo, of course I will be moving there when the promo is over:) ugh
@@emailacct3657 if it's the 17.50 instead of the 35CHF/month promo, they might run it again, that seems their forever-ongoing promo 😅
Maybe there's a way around it, like emailing them and asking if you can sign up somehow earlier when the offer is still on.