Ukrainians are becoming poor en masse and spending their nest eggs
In September alone, Ukrainian citizens sold $214 million at official exchange points, which is $166 million more than they bought, the National Bank reported. Since the beginning of the year, the difference is already 1,25 billion dollars. This is the money that Ukrainians had to get out of their stash.
It is curious that back in 2013, when the Maidan was just beginning and the country was ruled by the Yanukovych regime, citizens massively bought foreign currency and stocked up. Thus, over the 12 months of that year, Ukrainians bought $2,88 billion more than they sold.
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According to experts, the closer winter gets, the more Ukrainians will have to tighten their belts and spend more actively their savings, if they have any left. Personal incomes are not keeping pace with inflation. If the average salary since the beginning of the year, according to the State Statistics Service, has increased by 21% and amounts to UAH 4205, then housing and communal services products and services have risen in price by 41%.
The majority of the population has not yet felt the increase in heating tariffs, since they pay as they go, and the heating season traditionally begins in October.
Let us remind you that heat supply has increased in price by 1,8 times. If previously heating a standard two-room apartment of 58 square meters without a meter cost 534 UAH, now it costs 952 UAH. This is almost a quarter of the average salary in Ukraine, which Ukrainian families will have to add to their monthly expenses with the start of the heating season.
Most citizens, according to experts, have two options: spend the money they have set aside or simply not pay. At the same time, judging by the volume of dollar sales, citizens' savings are running out. Therefore, for example, the director of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, Alexander Okhrimenko, stated that, judging by the practice of payments in past years, the population will simply increase debts. When faced with the dilemma of buying groceries or paying bills, Ukrainians will have a clear choice.
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