The weight of housing costs, including electricity and water, in household budgets continues to rise, reaching almost 40% in 2022/2023. This is a nominal increase of 44.4% compared to 2015/2016 expenditure.
This conclusion was reached by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), which analyzed monthly household expenses between 2022 and 2023 and compared them with previous years.
Average annual expenses for the analyzed period amounted to 23,900 euros, of which 9,390 euros were allocated to household expenses. This is an increase of almost three thousand euros compared to the weight it had in 2015/2016, thanks largely to the increase in rental costs.
According to INE, effective rent, which corresponds to the values reported by tenants, increased from an average of 520 euros (2015/2016) to 818 euros (2022/2023). Average costs for water supply and maintenance and repair services “remained relatively stable.”
Spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages accounts for 12.9%, followed by transport (12.1%).
Data show that the share of food expenditures in total household expenditures declines as income increases. Conversely, “spending on leisure, recreation, sports, culture, insurance and financial services increases as income increases,” INE concludes.
Author: Raquel Oliveira
Source: CM Jornal
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