Prices rise – the budget survives: what strategy to choose a family for 2027

Communal can not be postponed until better times and will not replace something cheaper, so it is better to calculate the family budget in advance. This is assured by an independent financial expert, practicing trader Dmitry Shchukin.

I would build a family budget for 2027, adjusted for the fact that everything will go up at different speeds. The Central Bank expects that next year prices will grow by an average of about 4%. And housing and communal services tariffs, according to the forecast of the Ministry of Economic Development, from July 1, 2027, will increase on average in the country by 11% - this is almost three times more. You can't put off the communal until better times and replace it with something cheaper. But the benchmark for this growth is already now, and you can prepare for it in advance, says the interlocutor of the publication.

The logic of training among experts polled by MK in Tula converges at one point: first - reserve and debt, then - optimization of spending and only then - investments and benefits.

As a trader, I look at the family budget the same way I look at the trading account. Mandatory payments are transactions that are already open and that you simply cannot close. And what's left behind works like a free margin -- a stock of money that holds a score when the market goes against a position. While the stock is large, the rise in prices is almost not felt. But when mandatory payments eat up almost all income, any price hike hits immediately on food and medicine, and a credit card is used. On the stock exchange, it is those who have no free margin left who are the first to liquidate. Therefore, to cut costs and prepare for 2027, I would start by increasing this stock before the summer. Do not take new installments and close the most expensive debt, because each such payment is another open transaction that eats up the stock, explains Shchukin.

The catalyst for such revision is often the most common force majeure. Evgenia Bodnar, an economist and bankruptcy expert at Financial and Legal Alliance, draws a recognizable scene:

“You have 2 loans and you pay them well. And then suddenly the washing machine broke down, you had a sharp toothache, a utility bill came in, the kids got cold - and all this at a time when it's time to change summer tires to winter tires. And waiting for a salary is not so pleasant, because there is almost nothing left of it. If the situation is as it is now, with all these costs, will you be able to make the next payments on time for the loan? If your answer is “no, I can’t” – don’t even think about borrowing a new loan

Airbag: “straw” in the size of 3-4-12 months of income

The practical answer to the question “how much to save” – Bodnar:

Creating a financial “safety cushion” is about the very “straw” that everyone can put in advance, in order to avoid a difficult financial situation. The task of the financial cushion is only one: to help you with money in cases where you lose income. This is an ambulance in case of force majeure.”.

According to her, the classical model looks like this: the amount of monthly expenses is multiplied by the number of months for which the reserve is needed.

“Ideally, you should have money to last at least 3-4 months. The size of the pillow can vary from 3 to 12 monthly income, the expert specifies.

But to keep stock under the mattress, she would not advise: according to a survey by Anderida Financial Group, a third of Russians prefer to keep money only “under the mattress” – because of uncertainty about the future, fear of blocking accounts and the belief that “homes are safer”.

There are four rules of accumulation in Bodnar:

“pay yourself first” – set aside a fixed amount from each receipt, without waiting for the end of the month (the standard recommendation is 10-15%, but you can start with less);

fix all income and expenses on paper, so that the figures are in front of your eyes;

avoid spontaneous purchases;

and use additional ways to save money, like cashback cards, to pay back some of what you spent on your account.

“The main thing is the system: postpone and monitor your spending, gradually approaching your goals. In this case, time works for you, and it remains only to learn to wait, she summarizes.

Where to put the accumulated money, adds Shchukin: “Free money I would now keep on deposit or savings account – the rate on them is still higher than inflation.”.

The second block of the strategy is state payments and benefits. “State payments should be made first. This is “free” money – you just need to remember to take it, says Anatoly Baranov, a member of the Central Council of the independent trade union “New Labour”.

He describes the key tools to replenish the family budget:

“They pay off the mortgage – this is the most profitable way,” says Baranov.

Shchukin adds to this list a subsidy for housing and communal services: it can be obtained “if the communal for the calculation of social protection takes more than 22% of family income”, and in the Tula region the threshold for families with a small income is even lower.

Taking into account all expenses is one of Baranov’s key tips when restructuring the family budget. This can be done manually or through banking applications that automatically categorize write-offs. All expenses should be decomposed into mandatory (housing, food, transport, loans), variables (clothing, entertainment, gifts) and savings - "so you immediately see where there is room for maneuver.".

Most of the money, according to him, eat repetitive spending, so it is more profitable to save there:

plan a menu for a week and go to the store with a list (and not hungry),

take seasonal products and own brands of networks,

buy cereals, pasta and butter in small wholesale.

In the communal room - to install individual metering devices, which "often reduces payments by 20-30% compared to payment according to standards", to transfer readings in time and implement energy-saving habits: LED lamps, equipment turned off from the outlet, aerators on taps, eliminated leaks, washing at 30-40 ° C.

In transport - public instead of a personal car or taxi, car sharing for rare trips, bicycle and legs - for short distances. Plus a monthly “audit of subscriptions” with disabling unused, family tariffs for common services and regular reconciliation of mobile operator tariffs.

All employers have an obligation to index wages – this is not a right, but a requirement of Article 134 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. But “insist” on indexation and ask for a raise are different things, Baranov recalls.

According to the law, ensuring an increase in the real content of wages includes indexation in connection with the growth of consumer prices: state employees index according to departmental rules, commercial organizations themselves determine the order, frequency and size - in a collective agreement, agreement or regulation on remuneration.

Shchukin advises using this “recorded” norm as a lever:

“It is worth looking first at what is written in your company’s salary statement. It is easiest to insist when the indexing order is prescribed there, then you can ask for its implementation. If the salary is not indexed, and prices are rising, then it actually decreases, just in the calculation it is not visible. I would come to this conversation with the calculation of how much your mandatory payments have risen in the past year.”.

Analyzing the advice of three experts, we get a work plan for 2027:

The jump in tariffs in July 2027 will not come as a surprise – it has long been announced and calculated, which means that every family has a rare advantage in financial affairs: time. Eight months before the recalculation of payments, you can have time to close the most expensive loan, collect a reserve on the deposit, issue the due payments and deduction. Economists agree on this: inflation hits primarily those who live without a reserve and a plan, and by itself will not choose the victims. The difference between “almost nothing remains before the paycheck” and “there are 3-4 months of reserves” is not in the level of income, but in a sequence of simple actions, and it is worth starting them not from Monday, but from the nearest salary.