After work at 5 pm, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong (22 years old, from Phu Tho), a worker at Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi), hurriedly stopped at a local market near the boarding house to buy vegetables, eggs and some meat to cook dinner.
Ms. Huong shared that before, she usually spent almost her entire salary each month, but since prices increased, she was forced to change her spending habits.
My current income is about 8.5 million VND/month, while rent, electricity and water have cost nearly 1 million VND. If you don't calculate carefully, at the end of the month, it is very easy to fall into a situation where there is no money left to save," she said.
To avoid the "pocket burning" situation, Ms. Huong creates a monthly spending table using an application on her phone, clearly dividing fixed expenses such as rent, food, money to send back to her hometown and a minimum savings of 1 million VND.
Every time she wants to buy something outside of the plan, she considers it for a few days before deciding.
Not only Ms. Huong, Mr. Pham Van Tung (24 years old, electronics assembly worker) is also applying many flexible savings methods.
With an income of about 10.5 million VND/month, he said that food costs have increased compared to the previous two years, especially the price of meat, eggs and green vegetables.
“Previously, I often ate out for convenience. But now, my two roommates and I contribute money to buy food and take turns cooking. Each month I save about 700-800 thousand VND,” Mr. Tung said.
According to Mr. Tung, living together and cooking together not only reduces costs but also helps better control the quality of meals. He also limits buying new clothes, only replaces them when really necessary, and also takes advantage of promotions on e-commerce platforms when buying household items.
In many boarding houses around industrial parks in Hanoi, sharing rooms, buying food together, or hunting for discounted goods has become a habit of many young workers.
Some people also participate in social networking groups to exchange old items, buy back good items at only half the price of new ones.
Ms. Le Thu Trang (25 years old, a worker from Tuyen Quang) said that in addition to saving spending, she also started learning how to deposit savings periodically at the bank.
Each month I deduct 1.5 million VND to deposit savings. The amount is not large, but it helps me have a contingency if I get sick or want to return to my hometown to start a business later," she said.
According to Ms. Trang, with an income of less than 12 million VND/month for many workers, building early savings habits is especially important for young workers.
This habit not only helps her be proactive in the face of risks but also creates a foundation for long-term plans such as vocational training, buying a house or starting a business.
However, saving in the current context is not easy at all. Food prices, rent, and travel costs all increase, while the basic salary of many businesses only increases slightly each year, even some years without adjustment. This makes the gap between income and spending increasingly narrowed," Ms. Trang said.
The female worker admitted that there are months when unexpected expenses arise such as funerals, sickness or buying necessary items, her savings plan is affected.
But even though it's difficult, I still try to keep the minimum savings, because if there is no provision, it is very easy to fall into borrowing" - Ms. Trang said.
In the context of fluctuating prices, smart savings methods such as taking notes of spending, planning shopping, living together and periodically depositing savings are becoming a "shield" to help young workers stand firm against economic pressure.
