Two-thirds (66%) of Portuguese save less than 10% of their take-home pay, with four in 10 respondents unable to save even 5% of their income after taxes, a BCG shows study released this Wednesday.
According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Consumer Sentiment Survey 2023, 16% of Portuguese admit to saving between 10% and 20% of their net salary, 10% set aside 20% to 30% and only 2% manage to save more of half.
The study also states that Portuguese households’ disposable income after deducting expenses has declined since 2020, reaching 7.5% in the first quarter of this year, i.e. 6.7 percentage points below the eurozone average (14, 2%).
“Inflation, rising interest rates and failure to keep up with wages are the main causes of lost purchases, as well as a decline in savings and investment rates”refers to BCG.
Of those respondents who manage to save, 64% spend that amount on possible unforeseen events, 36% on savings for their retirement and 30% on travel.
Buying a house is part of the savings intentions of two in ten respondents, followed by buying a car (11%) and spending on other consumer goods (10%).
The survey also concluded that the consumption habits of Portuguese have undergone changes this year, with 64% of respondents reporting that they felt a sharp increase in the weight of food, 44% of personal vehicles, 42% of residential rental prices, 36 % from pharmacy, 17% from health and 16% from pets.
This increase in spending on basic needs led to a sharp decline in spending in other categories, such as outdoor entertainment (-40%), travel (-37%), clothing and accessories (-36%), furniture and decoration (-23 % ), perfumes and make-up (-22%), technology and electronics (-19%) and alcoholic beverages (-17%).
The research is based on a survey of 1,000 Portuguese people in mainland Portugal, conducted between September 15 and 25, 2023, with 33 questions about Portuguese people’s feelings about their consumption habits this year.
Source: DN
