Belgians are saving less
According to figures released by the National Bank of Belgium, people in Belgium are saving less than was the case in 2020. While savings accounts swelled during the lockdowns earlier in the pandemic, the amount of money we put aside for a rainy day has now returned to pre-pandemic levels.
During the third quarter of 2021 the percentage of disposable income households in Belgium saved was 13.5%. This is a far cry from the 26% of disposable income we saved during the second quarter of 2020, a large portion of which was spent under a very strict lockdown.
During the second quarter of 2021 when a less, strict lockdown was in force, but nevertheless bars and restaurants were closed for some of the time, we put an average of 18.3% of our disposable income aside as savings.
During the third quarter of last year disposable income rose by 1.3%. Nevertheless, during this period (July, August, September) the coronavirus restrictions were extensively relaxed. With more things open for people to spend their money on consumer spending rose by 7.3%. This in turn meant that less money was saved.