How many times have we heard the adage “Money does not buy happiness”?
While not everyone may agree with this statement, research has now shown that the lack of money is leading to a lot of stress for people in Malta.
The study, by the University of Malta’s Faculty for Social Well-being, looked at traumatic life events and how stressful people perceived them to be.
Events included bullying, work and financial problems, breakups, miscarriage, death and abuse.
Results showed that financial problems are the most stressful to the Maltese – more than the death of a loved one.
The data showed that 17% of Maltese – that is almost one in every four people over the age of 18 – experienced serious financial problems. Out of those who faced such issues at some point in their life, 68% described the stress levels as ‘very high’.
Faculty dean Andrew Azzopardi blamed this on an economic model that promotes affluence. He said the relevance of people seems to sit on how much wealth they are generating.
“This, together with the promise of the ‘Maltese dream’ – or, rather, one that you are as financially well-off as you want to be – makes it more challenging for people to focus on other concerns when the financial one seems to top everything else. We have turned into a consumerist nation where the value of money supersedes all other factors of well-being,” he said.
Azzopardi went on to add that, as people are becoming more obsessed with money, it is getting harder to navigate financial challenges.
And the financial challenges are real. We are living in a country and at a time when the cost of practically everything is rising.
Last year, a KPMG analysis showed that property prices in Malta shot up by 40% since 2017, growing at a rate of roughly 6% each year.
We recently heard how food inflation dipped by 1.2% between January and February, as a government scheme to cut prices of up to 400 food items by 15% came into effect. But food prices remain 5.5% higher than they were a year ago.
And, in the face of all these rising costs, wages are not coping.
A recent economic outlook report for Malta carried out by KPMG showed that wage increases over the last two years were entirely eaten up by rapid inflation, essentially leaving workers worse off in terms of purchasing power and rendering average real wages stagnant since 2018.
Research has long been showing that the rising cost of living is the biggest concern for the Maltese.
Living in Malta is expensive.
It takes a lot out of the average earner to keep up with housing, utility bills, food, medicine and child-related expenses.
What the recent study on traumas reminds us is that this is not just about numbers. It’s about people and their well-being.
The repercussions go deeper than a person’s pockets. Scraping the bottom of the barrel to get to the end of the month, eating into savings to cope with increasing costs, not being able to save, no longer affording items for your children – this is more than a financial pinch.
It is heartache. It’s mentally draining. It eats away at peace of mind.
This must be taken seriously. It’s time to put together a team of economists and academics to propose solutions.
It’s time for the government to take these solutions on board – no matter how politically popular or unpopular.