Lithuanian income and expenditure: One thing will surprise

Jūratė Cvilikienė, head of the Swedbank Institute of Finance, said why this is how to arrange their finances.

– What did the survey show?

– We are doing the survey for the third year in a row, we can see some trends. The main things that are obvious – Lithuanians are able to take care of today, but the future, some surprises, still remain a really insurmountable task.

– We think is good today, and how tomorrow will you see?

– We are probably not just about the finance. We do so in many other areas – while we are good, we tend to think about the future.

– As with health.

– Yes, as with health – until all is well, well. Such prevention would be very much liked. When it comes to whether they are safe for surprises, whether they have prohibitions, or have been handled – a very small part can say they are.

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– Financial dedication to the future – is it not that people just have nothing to dedicate to?

– There is certainly a problem with very low income. Obviously, the higher the income, the higher the financial security. There are also greater opportunities to take care of yourself. However, when there is a low income, as if those risks do not disappear anywhere, one should have some pillow. Small amounts should not be underestimated. In fact, one euro per year is not a small amount. We really observe that the older people are, the higher the income, the better skills, and possibly the opportunities to take care of. Young people are financially very insecure and do not receive high salaries.

– Their knowledge may be higher.

– Yes, knowledge is much higher. They are better at technology, new trends, but take care of themselves – as long as they have more income or just skills.

– When are those skills coming to a person – with what age limit?

– Probably the most financially stable age group would be 35-55 years. This is the peak itself – maybe liabilities, loans, and free funds can be invested. Seniors’ income is low, but they often have no obligations, they get some compensation. When it comes to knowledge, young people outperform everyone.

– Is it realistic that almost every fifth Lithuanian spends more every month than they earn?

– Of course. We measure financial health, we can say that 60 % The population has good, stable financial health, 20 percent. – Very good when they can relax, and 17-20 % is in tension. Sometimes the costs are higher than the income. Not necessarily every month – they may be smoothed or something helps, but the tension feels strong.

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– Is that group of people who spend more than they earn, increase?

– Our research shows no. It does not decrease as fast as we would like, but it does not increase.

– Here men or women? Often we would associate such a stereotype with women.

– It would be a very controversial answer because we know that men still earn more in Lithuania. Their salaries are higher, and the future can be more careful. On the other hand, we see that women are very responsible – accumulate a reserve from lower income, but men are bolder by investing. That data is available and obvious.

– If every fifth does not care about their future, what does that mean?

– This means that some people feel very unsafe. Financial insecurity, financial stress is a top 3 stressor. There are different ways of solutions – sometimes some loved ones help, others live in a couple, can help each other. There are currently no fast credit or debt jumps. Lithuanians do not like borrowing – unless the shadow money is helpful from relatives or perhaps.

– Sometimes interesting topics and interesting observations appear in conversations with acquaintances. There are people who are 40, they say: how to plan it because I don’t know how much I spend. Can you briefly remind everyone how to plan your budget?

– The very essence – what did you say – how do you manage something you don’t realize? Whatever we don’t want, the first step is to evaluate our expenses, find places where it is not necessary or not a priority – to transfer. You may find that it is too expensive to rent whether you do not need two cars in the family, maybe sell something. In this way, we can balance our financial flows without even taking some very drastic things. After reviewing, we will feel excitement. There will be a summer season, travel, entertainment, and will be a lot of costs. Perhaps we will be dedicated to now, in the fall, we will not say that the costs are higher than the income.