More than a third of Brazilians had their income reduced during the pandemic

A survey carried out by Serasa and Opinion Box pointed out that just over a third of Brazilians had a reduction in income due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The survey “Pandemic and Financial Impacts” showed how the financial life of Brazilians was affected after two years of facing Covid-19 and the reflexes of these changes in consumption habits, leisure and behavior.

For 34% of Brazilians, income decreased during the pandemic, while 41% of respondents said there was no change. Among those who registered an increase in income in the period, a growth of eight percentage points can be seen: they were 17% in 2021 and, now, they are 25%.

The number of people who claimed to have seen an increase in expenses also increased. It jumped from half last year to 63% this year.

However, even with the increase in expenses and the fall in income, Brazilians returned to pay their bills on time. The punctuality percentage rose from 46% in 2021 to 51% in 2022.

The study draws attention to the numbers in the Midwest region. The survey found that 62% of respondents in the region pay their bills on time, — the highest proportion in the country as a whole.

cost cutting

Due to the financial impacts, there was an increase in spending cuts. To get through the pandemic without debt or delaying bills, 51% of respondents said they had cut unnecessary spending, while in 2021 it was 46% in this situation.

In addition, 42% revealed that they started to plan more, against 21% in 2021. This made Brazilians start saving resources for unforeseen events — 67% said they give more importance to having money saved, 62% admitted to having learned to take better care of capital and 54% realized that they spent a lot on what they didn’t need.

Still, even as awareness has increased, Brazilians’ financial reserve has shrunk a little during the pandemic. In February 2021, 50% said they had money saved. Now, that percentage has dropped to 48%.