Many people in Finland have been trying to save money in recent times, especially on food expenses, according to a survey commissioned by the Consumers' Union of Finland.
Conducted at the beginning of this year, the survey found more than half of respondents saying they tried to save money while grocery shopping and eating out.
Around a half of respondents said they had cut back on spending for vacations and other leisure activities.
Food expenses are clearly a category where consumers are now looking for savings, according to the union's Secretary General Juha Beurling-Pomoell.
About 60 percent of respondents said they had saved on restaurant visits while 56 percent tried to save on groceries over the last six months of last year.
The survey found 44 percent of the respondents saying they had postponed purchasing durable goods, like washing machines or telephones.
Meanwhile 22 percent said they have had to postpone paying bills, while 12 percent had applied to make changes to their loan arrangements.
However, Beurling-Pomoell said that compared to a year ago, the pressure on consumers appears to have eased slightly.
"When you compare the results to recent years, the desire to save has decreased slightly in all other categories — except leisure spending. However, the pace is still very moderate," Beurling-Pomoell wrote in a press release.
The survey found 14 percent of respondents saying they had not tried to save money on anything.
At the same time, Beurling-Pomoell noted that 17 percent said they had tried saving money on medicine — while as recently as 2022 that proportion was 13 percent.
"It is worrying that so many people say that financial reasons at least partially prevent them from purchasing necessary medications," he said.
The All Points North podcast recently explored ways you can fight Finland's cost of living crisis. Listen to the episode via this embedded player, on Yle Areena, via Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
