Poor Filipinos ‘carefully spend every peso they have’ to survive

The poor, or the bottom 30 percent of the population, spend most of their limited resources on everyday essentials such as food, house rent, and education.

This was pointed out by Dr. Rogelio Alicor Panao, associate professor at the University of the Philippines, who said that latest data on consumer spending “challenges long-held beliefs about Filipino spending habits.”

Panao, in his analysis of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 2021 Consumer Finance Survey, stated that among the bottom 30 percent, almost three-fifths of every peso, or 58.2 percent is swallowed by essential food.

“[This is] proof that survival still dictates daily choices,” he said.

Do the poor squander? BSP spending data upends stereotypes

Even the richest 30 percent and middle 40 percent spend half their resources on food. However, “the gradual drop” – 51 percent and 57 percent – “shows how rising incomes slowly loosen the grip on the dining table.”

“As earnings climb, families channel more to housing, utilities, and transportation, upgrading homes and gaining mobility,” he explained, stressing that the wealthiest spend the most on furnishings and maintenance, a quiet signal of comfort and stability.”

Yet education flips the script: the poorest devote 5.7 percent of their budget to schooling — over twice what the richest spend — suggesting that among the poor more particularly, education is the surest escape from poverty.

“The biggest surprise though appears to be in the pesos spent on life’s little luxuries,” Panao said, pointing out that contrary to the cliché that the poor waste spare pesos on vices, they actually spend the least on non-essential food and alcohol, just 1 and 1.4 percent respectively.

Middle and upper groups indulge more at 1.9 percent and 2.4 percent respectively.

“For policymakers, the message should be clear–make food affordable, housing livable, and education accessible. The poorest are not squanderers—they are disciplined survivors fighting to get through,” he said.

Source: Inquirer