Living in Argentina, as in other parts of Latin America, is a challenge for a large part of the population. Few Argentines earn more than the minimum wage needed to live decently, so young people are attracted to currencies like bitcoin (BTC) as savings or investment.
From April 2022, the minimum wage in Argentina is ARS 38,940. According to the Labor Contract Law, this figure is defined as “the lowest remuneration that the worker without family responsibilities must receive in cash, in his legal working day, so as to ensure adequate food, decent housing, education, clothing , health care, transportation and recreation, vacations and pensions».
But is this amount really enough for all that? Let’s break down the basic expenses that an Argentine has to live. The last report that INDEC gave establishes that the basic food basket costs ARS 12,108 if the indigence line is exceeded. A figure that increases month by month given the growing inflation of products.
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To this must be added the cost of housing. In accordance with ZoneProp, the rent of a two-room apartment is worth ARS 53,450 on average in the City of Buenos Aires. A value that is slightly below what appears in the north of the GBA, where it is ARS 54,498, and well above the west and south, where it is ARS 37,093. In other cities of the country such as Rosario and Córdoba, it is found at ARS 30,725 and ARS 26,005 respectively.
It should be clarified that these are the rental data collected on average for the first quarter of 2022. It must be taken into account that this varies according to the neighborhood and, of course, each month due to the increase in general inflation of 55.1% year-on-year and 6.7% registered in the last month in Argentina for him INDEC.
Argentines earn less money than they need to live
The collected data shows that The minimum wage in Argentina is not enough to pay for the basic food basket and the average rent for a two-room apartment.. It is necessary to have a higher income of ARS 65,558 to cover these two expenses.
A couple could afford this between two minimum wages. Although even together they would not have enough for anything more than that, that is, it would not be enough to pay for household services, transportation, clothing, health, education, recreation and vacations.
One would think: “well, but most people earn more than the minimum wage”. Unfortunately this is not so. According to the last report of INDEC given at the end of 2021, the average monthly income per person in Argentina is ARS 32,192. A figure that is equivalent to the same as a pair of shoes or a bicycle, according to data collected in Mercado Libre.
As if this were not enough, everything continues to rise and many prices are exorbitant, which is why Argentines have lost reference values. For example, making a barbecue for six people costs around ARS 12,000, that is, the same as the basic monthly food basket, according to what was published Argy Finance. This high cost means that this Argentine custom is being lost.
Young people in Argentina are interested in bitcoin to face economic problems
Due to the difficult reality in Argentina to live independently, young people usually live with their parents in their own house where they do not pay rent, if they have the possibility, or as a couple. In this way, some can give themselves the opportunity to save or invest part of the money they earn.
The only way to save in Argentina, as well as in other Latin American countries, is to change the money to a “strong” currency.. Said in quotes because no asset is totally. But there are some that better maintain their value compared to weight, which drastically devalues over time. Samples of this are the dollar and bitcoin, the main cryptocurrency in the market.
It is speculated that people have more dollars in Argentina than in the United Statesaccording to data of the Central Bank that the economist Nicolás Gadano took. This is due to the fact that Argentines choose to store their savings in this currency, despite the economic restrictions that exist to buy it in the official market.
Likewise, Argentines stand out for buying bitcoin as a savings or investment. According to the data explorer chain analysis, Argentina is one of the 10 countries in the world with the highest adoption of cryptocurrenciesbeing the second in Latin America after Venezuela.
A study by Americas Market Intelligence points out that at least 12% of Argentines acquired cryptocurrencies before the start of 2022. This number is rising little by little because citizens, mainly young people, see more profitable to bitcoin than to the dollar.
Not only because of the price growth that it has had in the thirteen years since its origin, but also because of its ease of acquisition and storage in the midst of the economic difficulties and restrictions in Argentina. Today the blue dollar is trading at almost ARS 200while a bitcoin is worth over USD 41,000, according to the CriptoNoticias calculator.