Insee Analyses · December 2023 · n° 90

Household finance on a day‑to-day basis

In each of the first eight months of 2023, as in 2022 (erratum: year corrected on 31 May 2024), one-quarter of banking customers at La Banque Postale have experienced at least one overdraft spell per month for three consecutive months (a slightly lower share than the one that prevailed before the COVID-19 pandemic). Single parents and households whose earnings mainly include welfare benefits are twice as likely to be exposed to the risk of incurring such a precarious financial situation.

On average, one-quarter of households with regular earnings (wages, pensions, unemployment or welfare benefits) experience some overdraft spell the day before payday. All categories of households are exposed to such a risk, including those with high incomes; however, the risk is higher for low-income households, especially for those whose earnings mainly include welfare benefits. The day following payday, households’ card payments are twice as high on average as during a regular day; for the quarter of households with the lowest incomes, they are 3,6 times as high as on a regular day.