Survey: People hope the new year will be more financially successful

TALLINN - According to a survey commissioned by Luminor and conducted by Norstat, 42 percent of people in Estonia believe that the new year will be more financially successful for them than the last.

Marek Meelis-Puust, Head of Retail Banking at Luminor, said Estonia's results are contradictory in the Baltic context, as the country has the highest proportion of both optimistic and pessimistic people.

"In Estonia, 42 percent of people expect a better financial situation in the new year, 17 percent anticipate their financial situation worsening, and 41 percent see no difference or considered it too early to predict," said Puust. "The long-lasting economic recession and stagnation are expected to be replaced by slight economic growth in the new year. As two and a half times more people believe their financial situation will improve rather than worsen, optimism is also reflected in the expectations of Estonians."

By age group, young people aged 18-29 are the most optimistic, with 61 percent expecting the new year to be more financially successful than the last. "For young people, the financial situation can change significantly in a year - for example, finding a full-time professional job can multiply their income," Puust explained. "Optimism decreases with age: among those in their forties, half of the respondents expect a better financial year, while among those aged 60-74, only 23 percent do."

Regionally, residents of Lääne-Viru County (55 percent), Viljandi County (52 percent), and Tartu County (50 percent) are the most optimistic. The most pessimistic, however, are the people of Ida-Viru County, where only a quarter believe the new year will be financially better than the last.

Puust noted that optimism is also linked to current income levels. "People earning higher salaries are more optimistic about the new year: among those with a net income of over 2,000 euros, 57 percent of respondents expect their financial situation to improve, compared to 43 percent of those earning 1,001-2,000 euros, and only 31 percent of respondents with a net income below 1,000 euros," he added.

In a Baltic comparison, Estonia's results stand out. While 42 percent of respondents in Estonia believe their financial situation will improve, this figure is 38 percent in Latvia and Lithuania. At the same time, 17 percent of people in Estonia expect their financial situation to worsen, compared to 14 percent in Latvia and Lithuania.

"Estonia's contradictory results compared to the other Baltic states stem mainly from the fact that our expected economic growth has been long delayed, while Latvia's economy has been stable and Lithuania has experienced growth. Therefore, hope for an improvement in personal finances is somewhat hesitant, but at the same time, a majority of people still hope that the new year will bring better financial times," Puust said.

The survey was commissioned by Luminor and conducted by the research company Norstat in November. A total of 3,013 people aged 18-74 in the Baltic states responded to the survey.