Spending on food and housing

The distribution of family budgets has been forced to revert to how it was some 30 years ago, due to inflation on the one hand and the internal devaluation of the previous decade on the other, excessively raising the percentage of food and housing expenses in total household spending.

The situation for households today is even more unfavorable, as incomes, after their steep decline in the decade of the financial crisis, have not returned to pre-2010 levels, while spending – and indeed the most inflexible – on food and housing has been growing for the last three years at a dizzying pace.

According to family budget surveys carried out by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT), in 1994 almost half of households’ monthly expenses (49.1% of the total) were related to food and housing. It should, of course, be noted that at that time ELSTAT did not take into account the costs for hotels and catering, possibly as the consumption patterns that prevailed in previous years were quite different.

Now the share of the family budget heading to most basic expenses such as food and housing has grown from 27.8% in 2004 to 35%, and is about to increase further.