Is this true for your household?
According to a new survey by The Journal and Red C, more Irish people than ever before are managing to save a substantial amount of their salary every month.
In fact, a whopping 68 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed this month admit they have been able to squirrel away their cash rather than spending it. And the Central Bank of Ireland statistics can confirm this.
By the end of January this year, Irish household deposits had grown by 13.5 percent to a record €126.5 billion. Meaning, with few opportunities to spend their money, households in this country have deposited an extra €15.1 billion over the past year and €1.9 billion in January alone.
However, this is not the case for the entire population.
Bucking the overall trend of the country’s adult population, people with young children say they are actually spending more now than they were at the start of the pandemic, and, naturally, saving less money as a result.
With schools closed for a large chunk of these past 12 months, and kids stuck at home, the cost of running a household has increased. You know all those snacks and lunches and snacks and dinners and snacks and snacks and baking projects and snacks? They all add up.
Not surprisingly to most of us in the same boat, over half of the parents surveyed said their outgoings have increased and nearly 30 per cent even admitted they have lost income in the past year.
According to The Journal, economists expect the unwinding of these built-up savings to contribute to a consumer boom towards the end of 2021 and into 2022, which could be a key factor in Ireland’s economic recovery.
Asked if the length of the current lockdown period could impede a big uptick in spending in the second half of the year, Professor Kieran McQuinn told the news site:
“The longer we are in lockdown then the more adversely affected the recovery will be this year. It also means that scarring effects particularly for SMEs are likely to be greater and this would further impede their recovery. I think the big issue, however, is how successful the vaccinations are in restricting the impact of the virus. If the virus is well and truly suppressed by the vaccination then I think we can expect a strong recovery in the latter half of 2021 and into 2022.”
On the bright side, at least now that the kids are back in school, and you can get off from being on constant snack duty, you might even manage to save a few quid as well, mums!
