The average annual volume of spare money of Russian citizens has broken the record of the past ten years, a survey by the Romir research holding says.
The spare money index’ is the difference between the income and spending on personal necessities, such as food and clothing. In the end of 2018, there was a steep rise despite the seasonal increase of spending prior to the holidays. The average amount of spare money in a household reached almost RUR 37K ($560), which equals the average monthly salary. That is, the index grew by almost 50%, the survey says. On average, the index grew by 20% and reached RUR 24K in 2018. In 2017, it was just RUR 18.5K. Interestingly, the biggest growth was recorded in small cities.
“In cities with a population of over one million, the index, however high, grew only by 3.3% in 2018, which is even lower that the official inflation rate. At the same time, in cities with a population of 500,000 the volume of spare money increased by 18%, while in smaller cities, with a population of about 100,000-500,000, it increased by 25%,” the survey says.