Do you live from a single salary? You are already vulnerable. Practical guide for expensive times

Romania is going through an avalanche of fiscal measures announced fragmentarily, without the population or companies being able to estimate their effects exactly.

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“The current context in which we have so many measures announced and we will not know them all and worse is that we do not even know or we can estimate the effects of all these measures and at the personal level and at the business level. The challenge comes first Those who are based only on salary and in general salaries have a certain amount, cannot be increased from month to month and cannot be adjusted from their activity to most people. It's a difference in those who work on sales or are entrepreneurs. There's something else there. But the vast majority of people stand like a bargain in one leg, that is, it is based on a single source of income, and this puts them in a very vulnerable situation in the current context. “told “Adevărul”, the financial education expert Adrian Asoltanie.

The first step: the 12 -month budget

He recommends, on the one hand, to make a budget. “The best tool is to put on paper, or in an Excel document, in an application … to start having a record of money, but not in the way some people do: I gave 5 lei for hairdresser, 3 lei at the supermarket, 12 lei on gas. It is good and this record. Little and frequent expenses.he explains.

Vital expenses, invisible waste

In his opinion, vital expenses are five in number, respectively: food, health, housing, transport and debts to those who have loans. “Basically, you have to look at these vital expenses in a first phase and see, sometimes in the food area or in other categories … that you can hide waste. In Romania, about 30% of the food is bought. Gas, current, phone, you may, possibly give up subscriptions or services that you pay but do not actually use ”adds Adrian Asoltanie.

Reducing quantities, changing brands

In the area of daily shopping, one of the first measures you can take is to reduce the purchased quantities or choose products from more affordable brands. The adjustments can target your consumption habits: where do you buy your food, what kind of cleaning or personal care products you use. All this becomes visible and can be managed much more efficiently once you build a clear budget.

Credit refinancing: an immediate solution

For those who have loans, the firm recommendation of the specialist is the renegotiation or refinancing of the loans, especially in the current context. Many Romanians still pay variable interest, either Robor plus the bank's margin, or IRCC plus margin, which means costs of 8-8.5% at present, although there are refinancing offers that descend up to 4.7–4.9%, as he says.

“If you do such a renegotiation or credit refinancing, you can reduce your rate with 2-3-400 lei and as we recommend that you calculate all the expenses over 12 months, an economy of 400 lei per month, by reducing the rate, leads to almost 5000 lei per year you save only from this movement. So this is what you can do when you do your budget at mandatory expenses: optimize, seek to eliminate waste ”, supports Adrian Asoltanie.

Regarding the optional expenses, such as clothes, outputs, gadgets, room subscriptions, holidays or pets, they offer a higher degree of flexibility. There are those costs that you can postpone, reduce or adapt according to the situation: you choose more accessible services, get out less, cook at home.

In addition, there is a category of expenses that often remains outside any financial plan: the money wasted. As a rule, they go to the vices: smoking, alcohol, gambling, bets or other constant habits that consume significant resources. Unfortunately, this area is present in most budgets, especially among those with low incomes.

All these adjustments are related to the first essential step: optimizing expenses. But the next stage, equally important, is the consolidation and diversification of revenues, especially at a time when both the public and the private sectors go through restructuring.

Adrian Asoltanie points out that you already see decreases in income and dismissals in IT, Banking or Auto Industry. In this context, in which the costs increase and the income can decrease or even disappear, its recommendation is clear: “You take great care of the income you have.”

Consolidation and diversification of income

For entrepreneurs, it is crucial to closely follow their financial flows, to collect the invoices on time and to create a safety fund. The same principle also applies to individuals or families – a fund that covers at least three months of essential expenses can make the difference in difficult periods.

Last but not least, the main income should be doubled by a secondary source: either an additional professional activity, or a monetized passion or hobby. It is essential not to depend on a single income, in a period when financial stability has become an illusion.

“I recommend entrepreneurs warmly to take great care of their company's financial situation, that is to collect their invoices on time, to make a safety fund, which is valid for a company but especially, of course, and for a natural person or for a family. To have money for 3 months of expenses is an extremely important step. And, last but not least, on the area of income, to diversify your income, that is, apart from the main salary you will build a short source of income ”says the analyst.

Therefore, the diversification of revenues is not only a recommendation of common sense, but a necessity in the current context. It may be about professional skills you use outside the work schedule, providing services for other customers, or a hobby, a passion or any other type of competence that can be monetized. Adrian Asoltanie emphasizes that this strategy has always been important, but at this moment it becomes essential: “SNever stay dependent on a single source of income, which, here, can be reduced, can be completely eliminated and puts you in a rather vulnerable situation. “

The risk is no longer just theoretically. In the budget system, ads have already been made on massive redundancies: it is estimated that about 150,000 employees will lose their jobs. Of these, according to the estimates of Adrian Asoltanie, at least 30,000-40,000 people have loans: mortgages, leasing, consumer loans. The effect will also be felt among their families, which means that the number of directly affected can reach several hundred thousand.

And the pressure does not come from the public sector. Just two weeks ago, Amazon Iași announced that he was giving up 500 employees. “The impact can be extremely consistent”he warns.

In conclusion, two directions are needed simultaneously: the control and efficiency of the expenses, respectively the consolidation and diversification of the revenues. The only viable strategy, he says, is to never stay dependent on a single source of money.

What has changed since August 1

Law 141/2025, adopted by assuming the Government's responsibility and recently published in the Official Gazette, brings tax increases with immediate applicability from August 1.

The overall VAT rate increases from 19% to 21%, which means costs of two percent for products such as clothes, appliances or telecom subscriptions. For example, a pair of 100 lei pants costs 102 lei, and a subscription of 90 lei rose to 91.8 lei.

Also from August 1, foods and medicines have 11% VAT, compared to 9% and 5% previous. Thus, a kilo of meat of 22 lei is with 44 more expensive money, and a medicine of 100 lei costs 102 lei.

The 11% VAT also applies to firewood, thermal energy, drinking water, cultural services and products in Horeca. For example, a water invoice of 200 lei begged with 4 lei, and the firewood is 60 lei more expensive per cubic meter.

In parallel, excise duties in fuels, alcohol and tobacco increased by 10%. The gasoline was expensive with 43 money per liter, and diesel with 40 money. These increases, in conjunction with the elimination of the capping of electricity prices, will be reflected in the costs of transport and production, training possible successive waves of increases in the next period.