Caught between declining income and increasing expenses in the wake of the pandemic, more Filipinos are interested to borrow, according to survey data from consumer finance service Digido released Wednesday, Nov. 23.

Between October and November 2022 Digido surveyed 130 of its client-respondents with previous experience in online borrowing.

Most of the respondents, 59 percent were aged 31-49; 21 percent, aged 50-64 and 20 percent, aged 18-30.

In the past 12 months, 55 percent of the respondents reported increased spending while only 5 percent saw a decrease.

Notably, 22 percent of them considered borrowing more frequently than before.

Others, 13 percent, have used loans or plan to continue using loans in approximately the same amount, and 10 percent started applying for more loans.

However, of the respondents who reported a drop in income, 12 percent avoided official loan sources entirely, 11 percent no longer considered taking on credit as frequently, and another 9 percent began to actually cut their number of loan applications.

The study showed that growing material wants and needs widen the financial gap and borrowing is seen as a means to breach the divide.

When asked directly how they assessed their own financial situation, 26 percent of respondents answered they were “in dire need of money.”

Another 24 percent responded: “money is enough only for essentials.”

Interestingly, 61 percent of Generation X respondents - people born from 1965 to 1980, reported increased expenses.

Digido attributed this group's increased household spending to natural “evolutionary” expansion of requirements for the quality of life among the population and the cumulative effect of the pandemic-related under-consumption, plus rising inflation.

On the other hand, 41 percent of respondents experienced a decrease in income, with 29 percent describing it as “significant”.

Only 27 percent of respondents reported an increase (including 9 percent with a significant increase).

Another 21 percent claimed to have about the same level of income as before.

Overall, the results confirmed the shift of the population towards lesser financial well-being, influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by inflation.

The main reasons for the change in income over the past 12 months were the shifts in additional earnings (22 percent) and in salary (14 percent).

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