2025-03-19
Reading time: 6 min.
Röntgen partner Greta Zarembiene
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced in the autumn that the middle class in Lithuania is defined as those earning between EUR 930 and EUR 200 per hand, or about half of the country's population. Another study explains the storm of controversy that these amounts have caused: it turns out that only 11% of Lithuanians feel financially secure. It is financial security that should be the aspiration of the population and the country as a whole, and it is not just a matter of income.
It is not worth expanding too much on the OECD figures: a monthly income of €930 per person is not enough to live comfortably today. It is only partly sufficient if you live in your own home, possibly inherited, and have no children and no financial obligations. Even €2,200 a month sounds a bit more solid only if you don't have to pay for a mortgage, your own or your children's education, a car, etc., live outside a big city, etc. In general, the great paradox of the term "middle class" in the public sphere is that it conveniently refers only to a dry figure "on paper" or "in hand" without context, i.e. without a person's necessary expenses, savings or financial behaviour. After all, young professionals earning very high incomes, for example, who immediately embark on a rather spectacular lifestyle, may in fact be financially fragile: heavily burdened with liabilities, without accumulated (let alone employed) capital, dependent on a single salaried job, etc.
Conversely, a senior citizen who is not receiving a salary or pension of even €1,000 may actually be financially capable and secure if he or she no longer has significant expenses or loans, has, for example, acquired rental property or has accumulated savings and active investments. High earners, not rich yet (HENRY) is a term often used abroad to refer to financial behaviour, i.e. "high earners, not rich yet". These are people who earn higher incomes but do not have significant savings or assets. They are often mid- to upper-level professionals with higher education, who, despite their solid income, also have high and, above all, unnecessary expenses for leisure or simply for their image.
According to the OECD, such people would certainly be in the middle or even upper class in terms of their income. But are they really financially secure or do they feel financially secure? Taking into account the commitments they have made and the unnecessary but routine expenses they have already incurred, such as travel or lifestyle, will they have significantly more spare money than people on modest incomes but who are frugal? Probably not. Paradoxically, the real and financially secure "middle class" is more likely to be parents who are frugal and have saved, rather than children who earn several times as much as they do and are spendthrift. The key to a true, financially secure "middle class" therefore lies not primarily in the larger and more generous budgets, but in the higher levels of savings.
It's not income that determines security Evidence shows that financial success is more often determined by how we handle our income than by how much we earn. People often want to look and "live" like the middle class, but much less often do they want to feel and actually be middle class, i.e. to live a secure, stable, worry-free life, with a financial buffer and, of course, in moderation, but allowing themselves to do a little more than just "get by". Fortunately, we can each ask ourselves whether certain expenses are really necessary and whether they could be used to build long-term financial security. It is likely that a large proportion of the OECD middle class has built up some sort of 'rainy day' fund, but why not make it a regular habit to set aside a monthly sum for savings, investments and reinvestment of earned returns? Savings and investments that grow slowly over time will bring more security and joy than day-to-day spending.
The great miracle of investing is that you don't even need staggering sums to succeed over the long term: just a couple of hundred euros a month can add up to a six-figure sum over several decades if you invest consistently and continue to earn all the returns you earn. Savings today can be employed by investing in a wide range of time-tested instruments: funds, stock indices, bonds, collateralised crowdfunding, or at least starting with deposits. The very principle of putting aside rather than spending will be welcome. And it will be even better if the money set aside works as well as we do. I do not dispute the obvious progress of the Lithuanian economy in recent decades, and it is wonderful to see more and more Lithuanians spending more and more of their money in Western European cities or resorts without counting it. But we will get closer to the West even faster if we put our newly earned substantial wealth first and invest it for the future. Both for security and so that it can gradually earn even more capital.
The storm of debate that these sums have created is explained by another study: it turns out that only 11% of Lithuanians feel financially secure. It is financial security that should be the aspiration of the population and the country as a whole, and it is not just a matter of income.
It's not worth expanding too much on the OECD figures: a monthly income of €930 per person is not enough to live comfortably today. It is only partly sufficient if you live in your own home, possibly in an inherited one, have no children and no financial obligations. Even €2,200 a month sounds a bit more solid only if you don't have to pay for a mortgage, your own or your children's education, a car, etc., live outside a big city, etc. In general, the great paradox of the term "middle class" in the public sphere is that it conveniently refers only to a dry figure "on paper" or "in hand" without context, i.e. without a person's necessary expenses, savings or financial behaviour. After all, young professionals earning very high incomes, for example, who immediately embark on a rather spectacular lifestyle, may in fact be financially fragile: heavily burdened with liabilities, without accumulated (let alone employed) capital, dependent on a single salaried job, etc.
Conversely, a senior citizen who is not receiving a salary or pension of even €1,000 may actually be financially capable and secure if he or she no longer has significant expenses or loans, has, for example, acquired rental property or has accumulated savings and active investments. High earners, not rich yet (HENRY) is a term often used abroad to refer to financial behaviour, i.e. "high earners, not rich yet". These are people who earn higher incomes but do not have significant savings or assets. They are often mid- to upper-level professionals with higher education, who, despite their solid income, also have high and, above all, unnecessary expenses for leisure or simply for their image.
According to the OECD, such people would certainly be in the middle or even upper middle class in terms of income. But are they really financially secure or do they feel financially secure? Taking into account the commitments they have made and the unnecessary but routine expenses they have already incurred, such as travel or lifestyle, will they have significantly more spare money than people on modest incomes but who are frugal? Probably not. Paradoxically, the real and financially secure "middle class" is more likely to be parents who are frugal and have saved, rather than children who earn several times as much as they do and are spendthrift. The key to a true, financially secure "middle class" therefore lies not in spending more, but in being more responsible with money.
It's not income that determines security Evidence shows that financial success is more often determined by how we handle our income than by how much we earn. People often want to look and "live" like the middle class, but much less often do they want to feel and actually be middle class, i.e. to live a secure, stable, worry-free life, with a financial buffer and, of course, in moderation, but allowing themselves to do a little more than just "get by". Fortunately, we can each ask ourselves whether certain expenses are really necessary and whether they could be used to build long-term financial security. It is likely that a large proportion of the OECD middle class has built up some sort of 'rainy day' fund, but why not make it a regular habit to set aside a monthly sum for savings, investments and reinvestment of earned returns? Savings and investments that grow slowly over time will bring more security and joy than day-to-day spending.
The great miracle of investing is that you don't even need staggering sums to succeed over the long term: just a couple of hundred euros a month can add up to a six-figure sum over several decades if you invest consistently and continue to earn all the returns you earn. Savings today can be employed by investing in a wide range of time-tested instruments: funds, stock indices, bonds, collateralised crowdfunding, or at least starting with deposits. The very principle of putting aside rather than spending will be welcome. And it will be even better if the money set aside works as well as we do. I do not dispute the obvious progress of the Lithuanian economy in recent decades, and it is wonderful to see more and more Lithuanians spending more and more of their money in Western European cities or resorts without counting it. But we will get closer to the West even faster if we put our newly earned substantial wealth first and invest it for the future. Both for security and so that it can gradually earn even more capital.
2025-03-19
Reading time: 6 min.
Röntgen partner Greta Zarembiene
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced in the autumn that the middle class in Lithuania is defined as those earning between EUR 930 and EUR 200 per hand, or about half of the country's population. Another study explains the storm of controversy that these amounts have caused: it turns out that only 11% of Lithuanians feel financially secure. It is financial security that should be the aspiration of the population and the country as a whole, and it is not just a matter of income.
It is not worth expanding too much on the OECD figures: a monthly income of €930 per person is not enough to live comfortably today. It is only partly sufficient if you live in your own home, possibly inherited, and have no children and no financial obligations. Even €2,200 a month sounds a bit more solid only if you don't have to pay for a mortgage, your own or your children's education, a car, etc., live outside a big city, etc. In general, the great paradox of the term "middle class" in the public sphere is that it conveniently refers only to a dry figure "on paper" or "in hand" without context, i.e. without a person's necessary expenses, savings or financial behaviour. After all, young professionals earning very high incomes, for example, who immediately embark on a rather spectacular lifestyle, may in fact be financially fragile: heavily burdened with liabilities, without accumulated (let alone employed) capital, dependent on a single salaried job, etc.
Conversely, a senior citizen who is not receiving a salary or pension of even €1,000 may actually be financially capable and secure if he or she no longer has significant expenses or loans, has, for example, acquired rental property or has accumulated savings and active investments. High earners, not rich yet (HENRY) is a term often used abroad to refer to financial behaviour, i.e. "high earners, not rich yet". These are people who earn higher incomes but do not have significant savings or assets. They are often mid- to upper-level professionals with higher education, who, despite their solid income, also have high and, above all, unnecessary expenses for leisure or simply for their image.
According to the OECD, such people would certainly be in the middle or even upper class in terms of their income. But are they really financially secure or do they feel financially secure? Taking into account the commitments they have made and the unnecessary but routine expenses they have already incurred, such as travel or lifestyle, will they have significantly more spare money than people on modest incomes but who are frugal? Probably not. Paradoxically, the real and financially secure "middle class" is more likely to be parents who are frugal and have saved, rather than children who earn several times as much as they do and are spendthrift. The key to a true, financially secure "middle class" therefore lies not primarily in the larger and more generous budgets, but in the higher levels of savings.
It's not income that determines security Evidence shows that financial success is more often determined by how we handle our income than by how much we earn. People often want to look and "live" like the middle class, but much less often do they want to feel and actually be middle class, i.e. to live a secure, stable, worry-free life, with a financial buffer and, of course, in moderation, but allowing themselves to do a little more than just "get by". Fortunately, we can each ask ourselves whether certain expenses are really necessary and whether they could be used to build long-term financial security. It is likely that a large proportion of the OECD middle class has built up some sort of 'rainy day' fund, but why not make it a regular habit to set aside a monthly sum for savings, investments and reinvestment of earned returns? Savings and investments that grow slowly over time will bring more security and joy than day-to-day spending.
The great miracle of investing is that you don't even need staggering sums to succeed over the long term: just a couple of hundred euros a month can add up to a six-figure sum over several decades if you invest consistently and continue to earn all the returns you earn. Savings today can be employed by investing in a wide range of time-tested instruments: funds, stock indices, bonds, collateralised crowdfunding, or at least starting with deposits. The very principle of putting aside rather than spending will be welcome. And it will be even better if the money set aside works as well as we do. I do not dispute the obvious progress of the Lithuanian economy in recent decades, and it is wonderful to see more and more Lithuanians spending more and more of their money in Western European cities or resorts without counting it. But we will get closer to the West even faster if we put our newly earned substantial wealth first and invest it for the future. Both for security and so that it can gradually earn even more capital.
The storm of debate that these sums have created is explained by another study: it turns out that only 11% of Lithuanians feel financially secure. It is financial security that should be the aspiration of the population and the country as a whole, and it is not just a matter of income.
It's not worth expanding too much on the OECD figures: a monthly income of €930 per person is not enough to live comfortably today. It is only partly sufficient if you live in your own home, possibly in an inherited one, have no children and no financial obligations. Even €2,200 a month sounds a bit more solid only if you don't have to pay for a mortgage, your own or your children's education, a car, etc., live outside a big city, etc. In general, the great paradox of the term "middle class" in the public sphere is that it conveniently refers only to a dry figure "on paper" or "in hand" without context, i.e. without a person's necessary expenses, savings or financial behaviour. After all, young professionals earning very high incomes, for example, who immediately embark on a rather spectacular lifestyle, may in fact be financially fragile: heavily burdened with liabilities, without accumulated (let alone employed) capital, dependent on a single salaried job, etc.
Conversely, a senior citizen who is not receiving a salary or pension of even €1,000 may actually be financially capable and secure if he or she no longer has significant expenses or loans, has, for example, acquired rental property or has accumulated savings and active investments. High earners, not rich yet (HENRY) is a term often used abroad to refer to financial behaviour, i.e. "high earners, not rich yet". These are people who earn higher incomes but do not have significant savings or assets. They are often mid- to upper-level professionals with higher education, who, despite their solid income, also have high and, above all, unnecessary expenses for leisure or simply for their image.
According to the OECD, such people would certainly be in the middle or even upper middle class in terms of income. But are they really financially secure or do they feel financially secure? Taking into account the commitments they have made and the unnecessary but routine expenses they have already incurred, such as travel or lifestyle, will they have significantly more spare money than people on modest incomes but who are frugal? Probably not. Paradoxically, the real and financially secure "middle class" is more likely to be parents who are frugal and have saved, rather than children who earn several times as much as they do and are spendthrift. The key to a true, financially secure "middle class" therefore lies not in spending more, but in being more responsible with money.
It's not income that determines security Evidence shows that financial success is more often determined by how we handle our income than by how much we earn. People often want to look and "live" like the middle class, but much less often do they want to feel and actually be middle class, i.e. to live a secure, stable, worry-free life, with a financial buffer and, of course, in moderation, but allowing themselves to do a little more than just "get by". Fortunately, we can each ask ourselves whether certain expenses are really necessary and whether they could be used to build long-term financial security. It is likely that a large proportion of the OECD middle class has built up some sort of 'rainy day' fund, but why not make it a regular habit to set aside a monthly sum for savings, investments and reinvestment of earned returns? Savings and investments that grow slowly over time will bring more security and joy than day-to-day spending.
The great miracle of investing is that you don't even need staggering sums to succeed over the long term: just a couple of hundred euros a month can add up to a six-figure sum over several decades if you invest consistently and continue to earn all the returns you earn. Savings today can be employed by investing in a wide range of time-tested instruments: funds, stock indices, bonds, collateralised crowdfunding, or at least starting with deposits. The very principle of putting aside rather than spending will be welcome. And it will be even better if the money set aside works as well as we do. I do not dispute the obvious progress of the Lithuanian economy in recent decades, and it is wonderful to see more and more Lithuanians spending more and more of their money in Western European cities or resorts without counting it. But we will get closer to the West even faster if we put our newly earned substantial wealth first and invest it for the future. Both for security and so that it can gradually earn even more capital.
Related notifications
Ready to start investing and
secure collateral for your investments?
INVEST NOW
© 2025 Röntgen. All rights reserved.
"Trečia diena" UAB, which operates the Röntgen platform, is a licensed crowdfunding platform. The platform is governed by the EU Crowdfunding Regulation and is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania in accordance with the law.
"Trečia diena" UAB, which operates the Röntgen platform, is a licensed crowdfunding platform. The platform is governed by the EU Crowdfunding Regulation and is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania in accordance with the law.