MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Some 30% of Russians have stopped saving up amid the current crisis and have changed their habits of making bank deposits and keeping money "under their pillow," a study by the National Agency for Financial Studies (NAFI) revealed on Friday.
Now as the Russians’ incomes have fallen due to the crisis, caused by lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine, citizens prefer to spend all their money on goods and paying for services.
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During the previous crisis six years ago, only 17% of Russians stopped piling on cash.
In its study, carried out for the Izvestia newspaper, Russia’s independent research company specializing in the financial behavior of citizens and businesses has questioned residents of 132 towns and villages of 46 Russian regions.
"The main reason for refusing to hoard money is currently the price growth, the citizens say noting that their salary and other sources of income are just enough for the current consumption," the study says.
Some 54% of Russians believe so, compared with 40% in 2009, the peak of the previous crisis.
"During that crisis, the main reason for refusing to save up was a cut in wages," the study says, adding that 43% of citizens stopped storing up money then, and now this figure is 40%
Out of 70% of Russians who continue making a purse, 44% are not sure about the future and "save against a rainy day," the agency says.