Almost 60% of Brazilians Delay Purchases to Save

The consumer is more cautious during this pandemic period. This is indicated by a special survey conducted in October by the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV Ibre) with 1,171 people, asking: have you delayed purchases of goods or services due to the pandemic? According to the study, 58% of Brazilian consumers answered yes. Of these, 53% cite uncertainty regarding the pandemic as the main reason, and 31% are saving out of precaution due to fears of unemployment affecting someone in the family (19%) or difficulty in finding a job (13%).

According to investment advisor Bruno Boulanger from Golden Investimentos, this is a good sign regarding the financial education of Brazilians. “A good portion of these consumers are delaying purchases due to situations experienced as a result of the pandemic, such as: rising food inflation, high unemployment rates, and a decrease in Brazilian income, in addition to increased uncertainty and unpredictability of the future scenario. In light of this, the solution – even for those earning less, as the research shows – is to save. It is worth noting that for good personal financial management, it is recommended to build an emergency fund equivalent to six months of the family's fixed expenses,” he advises.

The survey also reveals that the percentage of people with a greater interest in saving for the future increases among families earning less than R$2,100.00 and decreases as income rises. “It is important for each person to understand their reality to define the best type of investment, but since we are talking about a reserve for a possible emergency, the liquidity of the investment is a crucial factor,” he indicates.

The investment options that generally meet this type of demand should have high liquidity – which is the ability to redeem the resource in the short term more easily – and low risk. Thus, check below some options with these characteristics, selected by the investment specialist.

Investing in LFT means investing in the basic interest rate of the Brazilian economy, the Selic, with the lowest possible risk among all investment products available in the Brazilian financial market. It is a post-fixed security, meaning its profitability is determined by an indexer (in this case, the Selic), without any addition or discount. Among the available securities, it has the most stable behavior, without significant fluctuations.

In this case, the investor invests their money in the fund, which will be managed by the manager in different assets. To avoid risking the capital, it is important to opt for DI funds or fixed income funds. In these, the manager invests in conservative assets, and your reserve will be safer.

This is the most sought-after modality by investors looking for more stable returns and security. If you do not have any emergency reserve, this is the first type of investment that should be made. Fixed Income, as the name suggests, has predictable profitability and can be fixed at a monthly percentage or follow some index such as the Selic rate, CDI, inflation, or another, in addition to having the protection of the Credit Guarantee Fund (FGC).