Mexicans spend almost 15 hours a month burdened by financial issues: report

Mexicans spend almost 15 hours a month worried about their financial issues, with money being the one that overwhelms them the most, a study revealed.

The first Annual Financial Wellness Report, presented by Invested, in coordination with Vanguard, Aon and Amedirh, noted that 82.32% of respondents believe they have some kind of stress related to their current financial situation.

In the study, it was noted that money appears as the issue of most concern to 53.76% of the interviewees, followed by work, with 45.66%; health, with 32.73%, and others with 17.56% respectively.

“Financial well-being is a state of mind, an emotion that makes us feel peace, as a result of the right decisions about personal finances, this peace of mind rather than the amount of money people make, is a consequence of the good management they make over it,” said Christian Hauswaldt, executive director from Invested.

The report also revealed that 82.32% of respondents consider that they have “some kind of stress” related to their current financial situation, while 56% indicate that this stress “has some impact on their daily activities.”

Regarding debts, which are an inevitable source of stress, the report notes that 4 out of 10 workers spend between 20 and 50% of their monthly income to repay their debts, while 2 out of 10 spend more than 50%.

About retirement, 4 out of 10 workers are not sure how much they save for this stage of their life and 3 out of 10 said they did not save anything.

Among other data, the first annual report on financial well-being in Mexico also reveals that only 26.4% of respondents have defined financial objectives and that 28.1% have no reserve for eventualities.

Invested indicated that the report is an analysis of the current level of financial well-being of Mexican employees and specified that the sample was obtained through the Invested Financial Well-being Test on the website www.bienestar financiero.mx with information from more than 1,500 employees from different leading companies representing the most important sectors of the country's economy.

Most Mexicans have at least one credit card with which they can pay for their finances because they help them buy a product or pay for a service.

However, instead of settling the debt or making the payments they must make, people let them pay and that causes what is owed to grow, either because of low income, because of forgetfulness or simply because they decided to stop paying.

Immediately, banks or department stores begin to demand payment of the debt, but if this is not done, harassment begins that can lead to threats of seizure or even jail.

Despite the threats, the Act supports the user. Article 17 of the Constitution, in its final part, states: “No one may be imprisoned for debts of a purely civil nature”.

However, there are other types of judgments that can be carried out.

According to the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (Consusef), collection firms, which attract debts that people have in different department stores, are empowered to seize, but only if ordered by a judge.

In the event of such a procedure, the person from whom the property will be removed must be legally and timely notified. If the person responsible for this process does not do so properly, the embargo should not proceed.

Another situation that may arise if you have a debit is to become part of the Credit Bureau. This situation only occurs when the applicant for a credit or card defaulted three months with the corresponding payment.

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