More and more families are turning to their savings to cover daily expenses, while debt among different income groups with friends or relatives is growing. In 2025, 37.4% of the surveyed families were in debt. This level is double what it was two decades ago. Furthermore, as income levels decrease, the taking on of loans increases. In the first half of 2025, one in four households went into debt, and within the low-income bracket, it was one in three. To meet their needs, and in the absence of new monetary—labor or non-labor—or in-kind income, households resort to other strategies as a supplement. These include the sale of belongings or the use of savings, loans with banking entities or other informal mechanisms (family, for example), and financing purchases in installments or on credit. Some of the changes in the last 20 years include, among non-labor strategies, greater access to pension system coverage and an increase in the perception of social plans, subsidies, and monetary aid from churches and non-governmental organizations. A decrease in in-kind income and an increase in the financing of expenses—whether through formal channels, such as credit cards, or informal ones, such as buying on credit—is also observed, as well as the use of savings for current expenses. Among financing strategies, bank and finance company loans increased by 10.8 percentage points, and the use of credit cards or payment on credit increased by 28.9 percentage points between 2003 and 2025. Moreover, as income levels decrease, loan-taking increases. In the first half of 2025, one in four households went into debt, and within the low-income bracket, it was one in three. Regarding household loan applications, there is a greater amount of debt with banking and financial entities in the high and middle-income strata. Within the low-income stratum, informal debt with family or friends predominates. The percentage of households that used savings increased between 2018 and 2020, reaching a value close to 35%. From then on, it remained relatively stable until the first half of 2024, when it recorded a new increase and reached the maximum value of the series (40.1%). The percentage of households using bank loans and the financial system in general decreased and stagnated from 2020 to 2023. From 2024 onwards, a new growth in this strategy is observed, with levels similar to those of 2019. In the second half of 2020, an increase in households receiving subsidies and cash transfers was observed, reaching 27.5%.
