Half of people surveyed on their expectations and intentions for 2024 said they were pessimistic or very pessimistic, with the majority expecting it would be difficult to maintain their standard of living.
The data comes from the most recent study by the Portuguese Society Observatory of the Catholic University of Lisbon, conducted from November 22 to 29, 2023, with a thousand respondents aged 20 to 75 years.
Regarding the degree of optimism about 2024, only 15.9% said they were optimistic or very optimistic about this year, on the other hand, 18.2% said they were very pessimistic, and 32.5% said, that they are pessimistic, which adds up to 50.7. % of sample.
When asked whether it was easy to maintain their standard of living, the majority (53%) of respondents suggested that they would face difficulties, compared with 13% who believed that they would be able to maintain the standard of living they had previously. .
On the other hand, a majority also admit that they are concerned or very concerned about rising costs in all product categories, with the exception of non-food items such as clothing, shoes or appliances, and it should be noted that “two categories in relation to which about half (50. 9%) are very concerned about the increase in expenses, including home meals and expenses with rent/installment payments for a housing loan (46.6%).”
“The vast majority of respondents are concerned or very concerned about the increase in spending in 2024, highlighting the categories of household spending on food (84.4%), energy costs (80%), fuel (75.6%), rent/loans (64. 5%). %),” the study says.
When asked “to what extent do you think you will have to limit/reduce your consumption in the next year,” 39.5% said they would have to do so moderately, and 30.8% even said they would have to cut back significantly.
In terms of areas in which the household is considering saving, 73.5% prefer to eat out, followed by 65.3% who prefer to buy clothes, 56.8% who consider traveling less, 52.9%, who will buy fewer personal goods and 10.6% will reduce educational expenses. expenses.
“In another category (5.5%), cultural and leisure activities, fuel and services were most often mentioned,” he adds.
Also, 20.4% of respondents believe that in 2024 they will have difficulties meeting financial obligations. The most mentioned categories were mortgages (41.7%), consumer or personal loans (33.8%), home rentals (29.9%), and payments. for schools or extracurricular activities (25.5%), repayment of loans to family members or acquaintances (26%) and others (8%).
However, “it was observed that the perception of pessimism and the need to reduce consumption was weakened when comparing responses for 2023 (measured in December 2022) and 2024 (measured in November 2023),” he also states.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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