NAFI: 25% of Russians forced to touch ‘safety cushions’

26 January 2016 (12:06)

UrBC, Moscow, January 26, 2016. Whereas Russians used to try to spend less money on clothes and food items six years ago, now they are forced to opt for less expensive vacations and entertainment, National Bureau of Financial Research (NAFI) states.

People are apparently not prepared to cut their education investments or try to save money on housing bills. The number of those who can afford not to cut back on their spending has remained at 11% to 12% over the last six years.

Nadezhda Khvylya-Olinter of Moscow State University and Sulakshin Center says people’s general feelings about the future grew more pessimistic over the last six years, yet their reaction to price growth is for the time being more moderate than earlier.

‘This could be because working-age citizens managed to put some money aside in a ‘safety cushion’ during the relatively stable years of high oil prices, so they are not yet worried about their budgets,’ she says.

Private individuals currently keep more than 20 trillion RUR on bank deposits, yet every one in four people has already touched their savings.

It is also reported the number of Russian citizens with incomes below living wage is now above 23m, Rossiyskaya Gazeta states.

‘The average amount of money a Russian customer spends per grocery store visit is down by 27 RUR against one year earlier; considering the annual inflation rate, this means we are now forced to spend almost 20% less money than before; this is true of all Russian federal constituencies, including the capital,’ Khvylya-Olinter says.


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