The cost of living in St. Petersburg: how many Petersburgers need to not starve to death

Unfortunately, the people who determine the threshold of the subsistence minimum, and those who are forced to strictly save on each penny, seem to be on opposite sides of the barricade. The government annually and quarterly cites statistics, data claiming that the amounts they determined could well provide an acceptable standard of living for the population.

What is the cost of living

In the era of the Soviet Union, there was no concept of a subsistence minimum. People were not given any data, no boundaries were established with which they could assess their standard of living. Living richly was considered almost a disgrace, so people did not realize whether they live beyond the poverty line or even poverty - they lived as money could afford. They talked about the concepts of "consumer basket", "subsistence minimum" in the early 1990s. And some Russians found that they are almost beggars, and the contents of their wallet are enough only for physical survival.

Since then there have been specialists and statistics, regular analysis and figures. All in order to have the opportunity to find out how much and what products, services, things a person needs for life. In other words - to determine the cost of living. In St. Petersburg, as in a separate region, this figure differs from the general federal, and the data are periodically shown on the site of the city administration.

Why do we need to know the cost of living

All analytics and calculations are conducted to determine the welfare of the population, as well as to establish the amount for pensions, social benefits, minimum wages, scholarships. This is a necessary part of the socio-economic policy of the state, as not all citizens have the opportunity to earn income above the average or even work.

St. Petersburg: how are things in the northern capital?

What is the cost of living in St. Petersburg? Is it possible to really live on it or is it an inappropriate word and it is more appropriate to use "survive"? Let's look at the numbers.

The official site of the St. Petersburg Administration cites a lot of reporting data, including a subsistence minimum. St. Petersburg, 2013 for which it was economically saturated, a large increase in this indicator can not boast. In the fourth quarter of the year the able-bodied population had to live to the amount of 7874.40 rubles, pensioners were supposed to meet the sum of 5455.70 rubles, children - 6199.00 rubles. (Resolution No. 137 of March 13, 2014 of the Government of St. Petersburg). If you take the figures on average - it turned out 7072,50 rubles.

It is worth recalling that this figure takes into account the consumer basket (the minimum set of products - bread, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables), necessary payments and contributions. The cost of living in St. Petersburg for the period is slightly lower than in the whole country, the federation has an average of 7,326 rubles.

What has the year 2014 prepared for us?

Most recent data on what the living wage-2014, St. Petersburg found out very recently, on May 29 (Decree of the Government of St. Petersburg under number 439). The able-bodied population was 8449.60 rubles., Pensioners were supposed to live on 6110.40 rubles., Children's minimum was estimated at 7411.10 rubles. The average value is 7694.40 rubles.

One can not but agree that the figure has grown. The authorities linked this increase with the growth of production costs and the economic situation in Russia. Comments on the increase in wages were not, it is about preventing a sharp price jump. About what will be the cost of living in St. Petersburg in the next quarter, will be known only after a few months.

Let's hope that citizens will start to live better, and a better quality of life will become the norm when more expensive products appear in the food basket . This will increase the subsistence level itself, which will affect other social benefits - benefits, minimum wages, pensions.