K&H: under 100 thousand forints or over 2 million

Savings have come into focus recently. Due to the extreme inflation the year before last, many people switched to emergency mode – meaning that many households were forced to tap into their previously accumulated reserves – but last year was more favorable, as the slowing inflation and the increase in average salaries pulled real wages into positive territory, so the replenishment of reserves could begin.

The latest K&H Youth Index examined how many 19-29 year-olds – workers, students and other inactive people – have savings, how much they have, and how long the amount saved will last. The results are staggering.

Under 100 thousand forints

According to the research, many young people have no savings at all, with 43 percent of them having saved in the last quarter of last year. In contrast, 57 percent of them have some money saved, but within this there is a large variation: 17 percent reported less than 100 thousand forints, and 11 percent said 100-249 thousand forints.

Less than a quarter of young people, specifically 23 percent, can show an amount greater than 500 thousand forints, while 9 percent said they had over 2 million forints. If we include those who have no money saved in the calculation with zero forints, we get an average savings amount of 669 thousand forints.

How many months?

Based on the development of savings, it is not surprising that many young people would be able to live on the money they have saved for a relatively short period of time, if they had no income. According to the research, 34 percent of those with savings could only live for one month without income, 23 percent could count on a maximum of three months, and for 17 percent the same period could be a maximum of six months – so the majority would not be able to live for more than half a year without income. The other side is represented by the 10-10 percent who could finance their lives for a maximum of 1 year or more.

This means that even among young people who save, only 37 percent “see” more than three months ahead. This is an increase within the margin of error compared to the 35 percent in the third quarter of last year, but it is well below the 44 percent level measured in the second quarter of last year.

In the more than ten-year history of the survey – which began in late 2012 – on average, just over 34 percent of young people had enough reserves for more than three months. The peak value was 47 percent, which was achieved in late 2016. The lowest rate, 27 percent, characterized the period from 2014 to early 2021.