With electricity, heating and other utilities up significantly, 44% of respondents in Latvia plan to reduce their everyday expenses in order to afford to pay for utilities, according to results of a survey performed by Luminor Bank.
It was performed in December 2022 together with Norstat Latvia. 1 008 Latvian respondents aged 18 to 74 years were interviewed.
Every fifth respondent or 21% decided to introduce additional energy efficiency solutions in their dwelling to reduce monthly bills. This option is most often used by residents of Pieriga and residents older than 50 years.
Survey data shows that women and residents of Latgale most often are the ones with plans to reduce expenses. Economically active residents aged 40 to 49 years mentioned having plans to reduce expenses less often. The bank’s own observations indicate: residents are trying to be financially disciplined by changing or adapting their habits. This includes using austerity and energy efficiency solutions.
12% of respondents admit they earn enough to cover monthly expenses even if they increase suddenly. One-third of respondents said their income is sufficient to make sure monthly bills do not create worries. They also mentioned having a security pillow of sorts for emergencies. Men mentioned having enough income to cover price increase twice as often as women.
Seniors mentioned having savings more often than other groups of respondents.
«Unfortunately, we can see that people of the older generation are more responsible than economically active residents. This is possibly because seniors are generally more experienced and more cautious when it comes to the future, whereas younger people are more active in the now and think about emergencies or savings for the far future less often,» admits the bank’s business development manager Jekaterina Ziniča.
According to the survey, approximately 9% of residents in Latvia have plans to look for better-paid jobs in order to afford monthly utility payments. This response is the most popular among youngsters under the age of 29 years.
Also read: Every tenth Latvian resident expects larger debts than ever before after Christmas