BCR study: Lack of an emergency fund is the main financial concern for 44% of Romanians

Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR) presents the data of a sociological study carried out together with the research company Cult Market Research, regarding the saving behaviors and financial challenges of Romanians. The conclusions show that, although Romanians are increasingly aware of the need for an emergency fund, less than half of full-time employees, aged between 30 and 45, manage to save money. Most of the time, the study reveals, the obstacles to saving are more of a psychological nature and can be overcome with the help of financial experts.

The survey data shows that more than 6 in 10 employees, aged 30-45, are worried about facing an unexpected expense that they cannot afford, thus highlighting high financial fragility and the absence of an emergency fund.

Employees with children feel more vulnerable to not having an emergency fund than non-parents – only 46% of those with children manage to save, compared to 51% of those without – the most likely cause being increased financial responsibilities for the growth of the little ones. Unexpected expenses, such as those between 301-1,000 euros, more easily destabilize families with children, especially those with small children, aged between 3-5 years. From the data collected, an unexpected expense of 1,000 euros would affect financial stability for more than a third of respondents, and 26% would be affected by amounts between 501-1,000 euros.

When it comes to saving, the main goal for most respondents is to create an emergency fund (75%), wanting to control this vital aspect. On the other hand, of those who fail to save, almost three-quarters cite the high cost of living as the main reason – 40% say they simply don’t have the extra funds to save regularly, even if they work full-time, highlighting the challenges of putting money aside. However, 58% of those who fail to put money away say they would like to implement a monthly savings plan.

Although the term “reserve fund” is familiar to more than 8 out of 10 respondents, only half have such a fund. When it comes to the ideal size of this fund, 78% of study participants believe it should be between 1 and 6 salaries, indicating an awareness of the importance of a solid emergency fund.

“The study presents serious reasons for concern at the level of society, but at the same time, it also reveals a dose of hope. We should all be concerned that so many Romanian employees fail to put money aside for dark days, especially in this socio-economic context. It is even more worrying that one of the most vulnerable categories is the one that needs the most care and protection in the face of the unexpected: families with children. However, hope comes from the growing awareness of the need for an emergency fund. The problem is that people still don’t know exactly how to proceed and what are the best solutions for them. And here we set out to intervene and have been doing it intensively for almost two years. We already have almost 300,000 Romanians who have decided to work on a free financial plan together with our experts in the units. We are glad that, through this plan, most of them have visibly changed their habits and have become aware, first of all, of the need for an emergency fund. From the hundreds of thousands of honest financial dialogues held by my colleagues in recent months, I can tell you that we have all the prerequisites to build a financially intelligent Romania together”, said Dana Dima, Vicepresident Retail & Private Banking BCR.

According to BCR data, following the experience of financial coaching, facilitated by the bank’s experts, Romanians have already adopted a series of decisions regarding their short, medium and long term financial plans:

• 54% of those who benefited from financial coaching aimed to set up an emergency fund, aiming for a safety net of 3-6 months of salary.
• Almost 40% wanted additional protection mechanisms, while 25% were interested in growing and diversifying their savings. Some even set out to make major purchases, invest in their own businesses or in their children’s education.
• 2 in 10 customers reconsidered their medium and long-term goals, which led them to purchase a savings, protection or investment diversification product in the first 90 days.

The Cult Market Research study was carried out at the request of BCR, between August and September 2023, on a nationally representative sample, margin of error ±4.3%, consisting of full-time employees, aged between 30 and 45 years, from urban and rural areas, using the CAWI data collection method. The research also highlighted the fact that:

• 7 out of 10 respondents say that in the past 12 months they have experienced months where they spent more money than they earned.
• The most frequent unforeseen situations that can destabilize the budget are health problems (65%), car breakdown (57%), weddings/christenings (53%), appliance breakdown (45%), vacation expenses (39%).
• 56% of men say they save, while only 41% of women say they put money away.
• 48% of people living in urban areas manage to raise money, while in rural areas only 38% can do so.
• More than half of those who own a home manage to put money away, while about three-quarters of those who rent say they cannot.
• 66% of those who live with their partner without being married say they save, 48% of married people put money aside and only 42% of unmarried people save.
• More than half of those with a college degree manage to put money away (52% of those with a college degree and 56% of those with a master’s or doctorate), while more than two-thirds of people without a college degree say they don’t save.

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