Keeping savings at home is common practice in Turkey: Customs and Trade minister
ANKARA
Turkish citizens mostly prefer to keep their savings at home, according to a ministerial report made public on Feb. 27.
“Some 20 percent of Turkish Lira and foreign exchange savings are kept at home in cash. 36.2 percent of those who said they were building savings used bank deposits, and 35.5 percent of them kept their savings in gold. The rate of those keeping their savings in gold at home is quite high, at 77.2 percent,” Turkey’s Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci told state-run Anadolu Agency.
“Some 60 percent of the population borrow money from their kith and kin when their expenses outstrip their incomes. 33 percent of the households use credit cards to create debt. 60 percent of households prospect to make savings over income growth whereas 40 percent of them predict an increase in expenses,” he added, revealing the results of the research.
Ability to make savings is low
According to the research, carried out by interviews with 1,650 individuals in 26 provinces of Turkey, 45 percent of households are credit card holders and 10 percent of them have received bank loans recently. More than 34 percent of credit card holders have at least two credit cards. The average monthly credit card debt is 970 liras and the average monthly loan repayment is 1,160 liras.
Only 0.8 percent of citizens are enrolled in private pension schemes.
The average amount of savings is about one fifth of the monthly income, though only 13.6 percent of citizens have made savings in the last year.
Using daylight instead of electric lamps is a common practice but lavishness is pretty high in shopping for food and clothes, Tüfenkci explained.
“Preparing a shopping list before buying food is an area that needs increased awareness,” he said.
