During 2025, the 48% of Argentine households had to deploy some kind of strategy to make ends meet. This is stated in the latest report of the Argentina Grande Institute (IAG)which registers a sustained growth of defensive practices such as the use of savings, the sale of personal assets and debt, in a context of depressed consumption and loss of income.
“The central phenomenon today in Argentina is the family over-indebtedness“, he pointed out Daniel Arroyoformer Minister of Social Development. “Families get into debt because they can’t afford it and they end up taking on debt to cover the previous one; when you enter that circuit, it stops being something temporary and becomes permanent.”
The report shows that the main tool to solve this situation was the use of savings: the 35.3% of households They were used to cover current expenses and the 9,4% sold belongings. Besides, one in four households He went into debt, either with financial institutions or with close people.
“In 2024 I spent all my savings to cover basic expenses: I sold years of dollars to support prepaid and my children’s school. Last year we asked for loans and went into debt. My wife and I work, but it’s not enough. Now we take out credit to pay the debt. It became something permanent, with the feeling of covering holes month after month,” he said. Carlos Fernández, 50 years old, administrative employee in an SME.
“I sold the computer, a bicycle and some furniture to be able to pay basic expenses and support my children during 2025. Little by little you start to let go of things that you need and, anyway, you don’t get there,” he said. Mariana Díaz, 42 years old, commercial employee and mother of three children.
Debts to cover the basics
According to the IAG, debt is no longer associated with extraordinary consumption, but with the need to cover essential expenses. The percentage of households that go into debt specifically to “make ends meet” grew both compared to the second quarter of 2024 and in the year-on-year comparison with 2023.
“There are three clear questions: high fixed costsespecially electricity, gas and basic services; the cost of medicationstoday deregulated; and the cost of food“Arroyo listed. “Many people already ran out of money on the 10th and are beginning a very difficult race to make ends meet,” he added.
The report identifies the middle income households as the most stressed: the 40% resorted to savings, compared to 35% of lower-income households. Their access to formal credit is also greater: 18% became indebted to financial entities, against the 12% of low-income households.
Fernanda G. is 54 years old and has an extensive career as a journalist. She has been working as an editor for the same company for more than 20 years. She started selling a few dollars because she was not willing to give up some “little treats.” “I started to change to pay for something stupid, a gift for the kids, go to dinner one day, buy something for myself. First it was 100 dollars every two months, then it was 200 every month, until they were no longer just for those little treats, it was to make ends meet, pay the prepayment or the expenses. From 200 I went to 700 every month until the savings started to disappear. Then I started selling the clothes that we were already wearing. For me I work and I travel a lot and I take advantage of shopping abroad. They pay well for things from H&M or GAP here. I sold everything I could but I didn’t have anything left, not even savings or clothes or earrings or bracelets. My parents, who are almost 90 years old, help me. It’s very distressing and very unfair.
Defaults at record levels
The advance of indebtedness is reflected in the indicators of late paymentwhich reached a new record. According to the Banco Centralthe families’ default reached 8,8%the highest level in more than 15 years, after 13 consecutive months of increases. The growth is mainly explained by consumer credit and the sharp increase in debt with non-banking entities, in a scenario of falling purchasing power of salaries.
In the non-banking circuit — which includes virtual wallets such as NaranjaX and Mercado Pago, as well as financial institutions and appliance stores — the delay is much greater and reaches 20.2%, according to a report by the consulting firm Eco Go, directed by Marina Dal Poggetto, prepared from official data.
“I went into debt with a financial company to be able to buy the medications which I need every month, because with retirement it was no longer enough for me. At first it seemed like a small amount, but with the interest the debt became unpayable and I started to fall behind. Today they call me and send me seizure notices,” he said. Elena de Tellería, 71 years old, retired.
In this segment, indebtedness with financial entities grew 14% year-on-year and almost 67% compared to 2023. At the same time, the use of credit for everyday consumption increased: in November 2025, the 44,6% of supermarket purchases were paid by credit card, the highest level since records exist.
“The circuit usually starts by paying the minimum on the card, then the neighborhood financial institution appears, then another, and that ends in 500% annual rates“Arroyo warned.
The deterioration of disposable income appears as a key factor. According to the IAG, although registered private sector wages recovered nominal levels similar to those in 2023, the change in relative prices reduced the real margin after paying for services and transport. In the AMBA, these expenses went from representing the 4,8% from the median salary to 10,5% in two years.
This adjustment coexists with declining consumption: sales in supermarkets fell 10,2% real between January and November 2025 compared to 2023, with decreases in 23 of the 24 jurisdictions. At the same time, credit card delinquencies reached 7,4%the highest value recorded by the Central Bank.
In this context, opposition blocks of the Chamber of Deputies presented a bill aimed at household debt reliefwith a focus on the middle and lower sectors. The initiative proposes that the ANSES Sustainability Guarantee Fund (FGS) grant loans at a rate lower than that of the private financial system to cancel accumulated debts and establish a fee/income ratio that does not exceed the 30%.
For Arroyo, the social impact is already visible. “I am not talking about a social explosion, but about implosion“People who don’t arrive, live in debt and burst inside,” he stated. And he concluded: “When the debt is massive, it is a public policy problem. Without a cap on interest rates, there is no way out”.
LN/MG
