From Frequency58, a survey was conducted to explore the public tendency in relation to the monthly economical affordability. The question asked was: In the last month, did you have enough money to buy or pay for: …? The items or segment of basic needs selected were: clothing and footwear, food, medicines, cleaning tools, personal care, public transportation, education, rent and utilities (water, power, gas).
In general terms, the following results were obtained:
From the graph, we deduce that the top 3 priorities for the sample population are: food in the first place (82.8%), personal care (67%) and basic utilities for subsistence (65.8%), which make the two previous elements possible. To achieve this, the same population abandons or reduces its expenses in: clothing and footwear (73%), education (67%) and rent (60%).
When we cut across the surveyed population, in terms of the generation they were born in and their socioeconomic level, the following results were obtained:
It’s clear from this graph that it is the silent generation who have the least money available for all of the above categories. As for clothing and footwear, it’s Generation Y (hereafter, millennials) who have the most money available for this expense, followed by Generation Z (hereafter, zillenials) and Generation X to the same extent.
On the other hand, zillennials have the least resources available to cover public services and medicines, finding themselves in more difficult circumstances than millennials and generation X, but no more so than baby boomers. This is also true for rental issues. However, it is the boomers who are the most favored in terms of meeting their needs in public transportation and education.
Finally, we observe that the most disadvantaged generation is the silent generation with an average of 62.8% of the population that does not have the economic availability to cover their monthly needs in these 9 categories. It’s followed by the baby boomer generation with 50.6%, generation X with 46%, zillennials with 44.1% and millennials with 42.8%, being the best off.
It’s clear from this graph that the upper middle class has the greatest economic availability in all the items mentioned, with the exception of medicines. This is where the lower middle class is more favored. Likewise, it’s observed that the upper class would have changed or slowed down its consumption pattern, being those who could afford to pay their health-related bills the least. The same is true for personal care, public transportation and the payment of public services at the time of the survey.
The lower class is the most affected in terms of clothing and footwear, education, rent and food, followed by the lower middle class in the first two items and the upper class in the last two. On the other hand, it is the members of the lower class who are least able to pay for household cleaning supplies.
Finally, we have that on average the most disadvantaged class is the lower class, where 61.5% of its population does not have the economic availability to cover their monthly needs in the 9 categories described. This is followed by the upper class with 61.2%, who seem to be unable to continue to afford the lifestyle they had been living. Then the lower middle class with 39.4%, the middle class with 32.7% and the upper middle class with 11%.
Sheet:
Sampling unit: Natural persons, both genders, over 18 years of age, registered in the CNE Electoral Registry.
No. of interviews: 1,033 interviews.
Data collection: November 5 to 11, 2021.
Level of accuracy: Sampling error estimated at ±2.6%, considering maximum variance and 95% confidence.
Sampling method: Systematic random with probability proportional to the number of telephone lines in the country.
Instrument: Telephone interview, based on structured questionnaire.
Gender: Women 51%; Men 49%.
Ages: Generation Z (18-24) 11%; Generation Y (25-40) 34%: Generation X (41-55) 28%; Baby Boomers (56-75) 26%; Silent Generation (+75) 2%.
