More and more Italian families are in difficulty in covering food expenses and those necessary for treatment. Spending capacity has never been this low for at least seven years now. That is, since 2018, when Altroconsumo began carrying out the annual survey together with the equivalent associations in Spain, Portugal and Belgium.
Stable but negative
The Thermometer – this is the name of the study precisely because it analyzes the “temperature” of family finances – consists of a survey conducted on almost three thousand people on their ability to support current expenses for housing, mobility, health, nutrition, education, culture and free time . This year the index is 45.1, just 0.1% less than 2022, but enough to set the negative record since 2018. Essentially the situation is stable. But this is not necessarily good news. In fact, 2022 was the year of high inflation and, as is well known, the cost of money is the worst enemy of spending power.
Inflation eats away family wealth: 12.5% drop in 2022
edited by the Economics editorial team
In 2023 inflation remained high but slowed down, and above all “policies to support incomes were put in place, from the extension of the tax wedge cut, to initiatives to contain inflation and the various bonuses activated or extended, from the first tranche of funds released for healthcare to the grounding of the Pnrr”. All initiatives which, continues Altroconsumo, “do not seem to be having the positive effects that were expected”.
The only regions significantly above the national average are Liguria (49.3), Lombardy (48.3) and Piedmont (47.1) while Trentino-Alto Adige, Sicily and Veneto slightly surpass it. Umbria, Campania, Calabria and Abruzzo are the regions where the difficulties are most widespread.
In Italy half of the wealth is in the hands of 5% of families
by Valentina Conte
One in ten can’t make it
In fact, one family in ten (10%) is at the bottom of the thermometer, with serious economic difficulties. It means that these citizens had difficulty covering expenses in all six areas considered. The figure is a slight increase compared to 2022, when it stood at 9%. But the most substantial increase concerns families who have had “great difficulties”, which go from 35% to 40%, and those who have had problems putting aside savings (+4%).
Bills, energy poverty drops thanks to bonuses and subsidies. But the middle class pays the bill. Calabria at the top
There are those who don’t care
Analyzing the individual areas of expenditure instead, what worries us most is health, which in 2023 put 47% of families in difficulty: four percentage points more than in the previous two years. Doctor visits and dental care are the services that most often cannot be afforded. If we combine this with the collapse of specialist visits during the pandemic years, which has not yet been fully recovered, the panorama is even bleaker.
Furthermore, the Italian data is much worse than that found in the other three countries that took part in the survey. Our 47% of families who risk getting into financial trouble due to treatment is much higher than the 38% in Spain, the 36% in Portugal and the 28% in Belgium.
The number of families with problems coping also increased by four points food expensesfrom 37% a year ago to 41% in 2023. Meat, fish and vegan alternatives are the products that you have to give up the most but fruit and vegetables are not unscathed: for 44% of the sample, buying them is not so obvious .
But the home is the area that absolutely causes the most headaches for Italian families with 51% (+2% on 2022). Of these, 54% had difficulty with their bills – a figure which could, however, decrease in 2024, given that the price of energy has finally returned to normal levels – while for 41% it was unforeseen events, such as maintenance or repairs, that to blow up the accounts. For mobility it is – as always – the private car that inflicts the blows. Between the cost of fuel, road tax, rising car insurance and maintenance, 61% of Italians struggle to deal with the situation.
For almost four out of ten people (38%), enjoying free time and enjoying cultural products is a luxury. Travel and holidays are the first expense item that risks breaking the bank, followed by bars/restaurants and concerts or evenings at the cinema. Finally, education, which puts one in four Italians in difficulty.
There is pessimism
In addition to asking about the current situation, the Altroconsumo questionnaire also explored Italians’ expectations for the future. Which are not good. Over a third (32%) believe that in 2024 the family will have even more difficulty coping with expenses; exactly half think that things will remain unchanged and only 19% are optimistic, predicting a simpler 2024.
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– 2024-03-16 09:46:32
