These fixed costs paid each month represent up to 80% of the income of the poorest households, according to a study.
Electricity, water, telephone bills, rent or mortgage, insurance or fuel… These expenses, qualified as “constraints”, are constantly increasing in the household budget. They have thus increased by 36 euros per month in one year, according to the national index of constrained expenses published each year by the comparator lesfurets.com, in partnership with CSA Research.
These constrained expenditures are defined by INSEE as those “owed by households by contract or under a subscription”. They reach an average of 1095 euros each month, according to lesfurets.com. A significant weight: this amount represents just over a third of average household net income, but there are significant disparities. The detail of the index reveals that the constrained expenses thus weigh up to 80% of the monthly budget of the most modest French people, that is to say those who earn less than 900 euros per month. The proportion is reduced to 17% for the highest earners.
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In reality, the amount of these expenses that everyone must pay to live differs little whether one earns less than 1000 euros per month or more than 10,000 euros. The telephone package, for example, or fuel have the same price levels, or almost, for all French people. The study by the site lesfurets.com thus shows that the constrained expenses amount to 1017 euros per month for the poorest categories of the population against 1209 euros for high incomes, a difference of less than 20%. On the other hand, their weight varies logically, the same sum not representing the same part of a budget of 1500 euros or another of 3000 euros.
The disparities are also placed on the ground of age. While 18-24 year olds have to assume compulsory expenses of around 51% of their income, i.e. an amount of 1076 euros per month, the share is 26% for those aged 65 and over, who spend 841 euros per month. Expenses related to housing largely explain such a gap, seniors being for many full owners.
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63 euros per month for leisure activities only
Geographically, too, the gaps are widening. Ile-de-France remains the champion of constrained expenses: its inhabitants have to pay fixed costs of 1188 euros each month, inflated by expenses linked to real estate which represent an average of 802 euros against 675 euros at the level of the country. Not far from the inhabitants of the capital region, those of Pays de la Loire and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté must assume constrained expenses of, respectively, 1183 euros and 1165 euros. Since the average net income is lower in these territories, the share of constrained expenditure in the household budget is higher by a few points.
The study conducted by CSA Research also focused on the “leisure subscriptions”, without however including them in constrained expenditure. These pre-committed expenses for cinema, music or the gym reach 41 euros per month on average and up to 63 euros for 18-24 year olds. The study also notes that a third of French people – 34% – say they cannot do without their subscriptions to video streaming platforms. So many expenses that weigh in on the budgetary choices of households.
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