More than half of workers end the month without money, says Serasa survey

More than half of Brazilian workers (53%) reach the end of the month without enough money to pay all expenses, according to a survey by Serasa Experian released this Tuesday (18). The percentage is similar to that recorded in 2025, when 54% of those interviewed said they were in the same situation.

Among the workers interviewed, 47% say they use some additional resource or alternative to make ends meet. Another 6% end the month without enough money and without resorting to an extra solution.

The survey interviewed 1,008 professionals from public and private companies, including workers with a formal contract and people who work as PJs (legal entities). The interviews were carried out online between the 12th and 30th of June. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.

Food was mentioned by 78% of respondents who cannot reach the end of the month with enough money, followed by consumption bills, such as water, electricity and gas, mentioned by 72%. Expenditures also include financing for real estate or vehicles (44%), clothing, utilities and other consumer items (43%), loans (33%) and studies (22%). Each interviewee could indicate up to three types of expenses.

The survey also asked workers who have experienced or are still experiencing financial problems in the last five years about the consequences of debt and what the situation has on their daily lives.

In personal life, irritability and insomnia were cited by 44% of those interviewed. Weight changes, depression, physical pain and social isolation were also mentioned.

In the work environment, 51% reported stress and 46% extreme exhaustion or physical exhaustion. Another 35% said they noticed a decrease in attention and 33%, a drop in productivity.

University student Pietro Nascimento, 24, says he is living this reality. He decided to leave the family home just over a year ago to live alone in São Paulo (SP), in search of more independence and an address closer to work.

However, you realize that you have no money left at the end of the month. "Rent alone consumes almost half of my income. Around R$2,000 of a salary of R$4,500", he says.

Although he intends to buy a property in the future, Nascimento states that he has not yet been able to take concrete steps in that direction. "I continue to research cheaper properties and forms of financing."

For Serasa experts, financial education is one of the ways to overcome the situation.

"The data shows that the difficulty of balancing the budget is not a one-off situation. When this scenario does not change from one year to the next, we see persistent pressure on financial health", says Délber Lage, CEO of SalaryFits, a Serasa Experian company.

"This lack of margin can lead to the search for alternatives to supplement income or finance day-to-day expenses."

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