The percentage of people planning their lives is almost equal to the percentage who are living day by day, the State of the Nation survey had found.
The percentage of people who plan their lives dropped significantly since 2021 when the percentage stood at 71%. In the latest survey, it stood at 50.4%.
As such, the percentage who live day to day rose from 29% in 2021 to 49.6% in 2023.
Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the pandemic has affected how people plan out their lives, as well as inflation. "The public needs to adjust. This does not worry me, however, and persons should be left to see how they want to plan their lives," he said, adding that government has contributed to inflation by subsidizing energy, deeming it a socialist measure.
The survey found, unsurprisingly, that the older generations are the most likely to live day by day, while the younger generations are far more likely to plan ahead.
It also found that the more income tax one pays, the more they plan their lives.
The country has faced high inflation, with the cost of day to day goods rising. The country had faced a situation where people had to go in and out of quarantine, limit their travel and social gatherings. All of this takes its toll mentally, financially.
This survey only included Maltese people, but shouldn't another survey be conducted to include foreigners working in Malta? After all they form part of our society. Given Malta's population is so diverse today, in order to get a clear snapshot we need all the information.
The Prime Minister says that the rising percentage of people living day to day is not worrying him, but it should. And this survey reveals that more studies are needed.
For instance, are people living more day by day because of financial struggles resulting in them being unable to plan ahead? Asked how their financial situation is today when compared to a year ago, 30.6% said that it is worse. 42.7% said it is the same and the rest (26.7%) said it is better. 30.6% saying their financial situation is worse is a very concerning statistic.
At the same time the percentage of people who say that they have an average standard of living stood at 78.9%, which is hight. One should note that the percentage who said they had an above average standard of living dropped from 19.2% in 2021 to 12.1% in 2023, so it is clear that things are getting worse in this regard also.
The reasons more and more people are living day to day need to be uncovered. If people don't plan ahead, then they might not be planning for any unforeseen situations that could impact their lives, and that could have consequences.