One in four Poles rates their financial situation as good, compared with one in three a year ago, according to a survey by Bank Millennium. Some 76% of people save money, and the same share try to avoid going into debt.
The “Finanse Polaków 2026” (“Poles’ Finances 2026”) report, published Wednesday, found that 25% of Poles rated their financial situation as good, compared with 30% a year ago. In addition, 68% of respondents said their income had not changed over the past six months.
“The consequences can be seen in the way people accumulate savings. More and more people are setting aside small amounts, and 32% of savers put less than 5% of their monthly income toward this goal. At the same time, as many as 28% of respondents said their savings have shrunk since the beginning of the year,” the study’s authors noted.
They added that this was most often the result of unplanned expenses, the financing of a specific goal for which the savings had been earmarked, or the need to use the funds for everyday expenses.
They also pointed to another trend: Poles’ cautious approach to investing. More than half of the survey participants believe that investing requires specialized knowledge, and 11% rate their own competence in this area as good.
“The most important motivations for investing today are securing the future and protecting money from inflation. The desire to earn high returns comes only second. Statements about risk levels confirm this. More than half of Poles admit that when investing their money, security matters more to them than maximizing the rate of return, and only a small group is willing to accept greater risk in exchange for potentially higher profit,” the authors of the publication said.
At the same time, 48% of respondents would like to manage their finances better, 42% rate their financial skills as average, and 20% say they have no gaps in competence.
The “Finanse Polaków 2026” survey was conducted in July and August of this year on the Ariadna National Research Panel, using the CAWI (computer-assisted web interviewing) method, among 1,050 people age 18 and older. This is the fifth edition of the project. (PAP)
