Special Project

Where do 7,000 rubles a month go? We took a look into the wallets of Belarusians with high salaries

Author: Artem Begovsky. Photo: Onlíner; subjects of the material

One calmly supports a family of three, pays a mortgage, and dreams of a salary of 12,000 rubles. Another lives alone, pays 1,200 rubles for a car, and manages to save up to 1,500 rubles a month. In the new episode of the “My Budget” project, together with Betera, we looked into the wallets of Belarusians earning about 7,000 rubles and more. We explain what they can really afford, what they still save on, and how much money they have left by the end of the month.

In previous episodes we already looked into the wallets of Belarusians earning 3,000 and 5,000 rubles a month. Today we raise the bar again — we talk to those whose income is around 7,000 rubles and above. And if you earn about 9,000 rubles a month and are ready to tell us where that money goes

So I found a job at an international agency and now I work mainly for the foreign market.

If we calculate roughly, then over 11-12 years, I grew from a salary of 700 rubles to 6,700. But it wasn't like my salary increased steadily by a factor of two every year. There were different places, different stages, where growth was faster in some areas and slower in others. I simply gradually gained experience, moved to stronger companies, and that's how I ended up in my current position.

Vasily now lives in a private two-story house: his parents live on the first floor, and he lives on the second floor with his wife and daughter.

I pay around 600 rubles per month for my mortgage. I also have a few small loans and installments of around 500 rubles. I bought something for the house, and recently, for example, RAM became more expensive, so I took it on installment. In principle, it's more convenient for me to buy more expensive things this way. If I have the opportunity to split the amount over six months or a year and not pay everything at once, I'd rather do it that way.

The main expenses of the family fall on me, since my wife doesn't work and takes care of the household. She doesn't have a separate budget or so-called wife's salary. The money is mainly on my card: I pay for utilities, mortgage, and installments. If she orders something on marketplaces, she tells me how much she needs, and I transfer the money to her. My daughter can also ask me to transfer money to her card so she can buy something at school.

The most noticeable daily expense is food. A regular grocery shopping trip for the family costs around 250 rubles per week - that's if we don't have guests over on weekends and don't have barbecues. If we're getting together with a group, it's clear that it ends up being more expensive.

I do have a car, but it's already over 15 years old. Since I work remotely, I drive rarely: to the store, for some errands, and sometimes around the city. Baranovichi is a small town, so I spend around 70-100 rubles per month on fuel.

We don't often go to cafes and restaurants, maybe two or three times a month, and a normal evening out can cost around 100 rubles for the two of us.

One of my unusual regular expenses is subscriptions to AI services. My company compensates for some of the necessary tools, but I also buy some for myself. This can cost an additional $30-40 per month in equivalent.

The situation with clothing is roughly the same. I work remotely, so I buy clothes for myself very rarely. We purchase shoes as needed, and they usually last for a season or two. We don't have any expensive brands. My spouse occasionally orders things on marketplaces, including small items for the home. The total cost can add up to 100-200 rubles per month.

We try to save every month, and I usually set aside at least €100-200. We've had some issues with exchanging dollars at currency exchange offices due to the condition of the bills, so we've mostly switched to euros. We don't have any complex investments, and our main goal for these savings is to fund a vacation.

Despite having a high income, Vasily doesn't think that you can completely ignore money matters: mortgage, installment plans, groceries, family expenses, and vacations can quickly eat away at a significant portion of your salary.

In my opinion, the most important thing about having such a salary is that you no longer think about the price of every purchase at the store, and you understand that you'll always be able to cover your basic expenses.

My parents, I think, still don't fully understand what I do. If I start explaining internet advertising in detail, it would be a very long conversation. My friends don't ask me for loans because they know my salary, but they often ask if anyone is needed at our company or if I can help them get a job.

Overall, I consider my current salary to be quite good, but I don't think that I can stop at this level of income and not strive to grow further. I want to upgrade my car, do some renovations at home, take more vacations, and address my vision problems. All of this requires saving and setting aside money.

What level of salary would be comfortable for you?

Probably 12,000 rubles. With that amount, I would first and foremost allow myself to travel on vacation.

I can afford a lot, but I don't want to buy everything.

When it comes to high salaries, IT professionals are often mentioned. Pavel is 34 years old, lives in Vitebsk, and works as a developer. He entered the IT field almost eight years ago, starting with an internship, although before that, he worked on a construction site for three years. His current salary is around 8,000 rubles per month.

I have a remote job, a fairly lenient management, and no time tracker. If needed, I can start later, take a break during the day, and then return to work. Throughout this time, I have never had to work without weekends, and overtime is extremely rare, usually no more than an extra hour. Of course, there are moments in the company that I disagree with or don't like, but overall, it's quite tolerable.

My salary is currently around 8 thousand rubles, and it's tied to the Russian ruble, so the final amount fluctuates slightly. I've been at this level since October or November of last year, and before that, I was earning about a thousand less.

I currently live alone with my cat, so my expenses are only for myself, except for occasional help to my parents.

Pavel records all his daily expenses in a special tracker and can then see how much he spent on food, health, entertainment, and other categories for the month.

However, I don't specifically include my car loan in the tracker. I'm currently paying 1200 rubles per month for it, although the mandatory payment is significantly less, around 400 rubles. The loan is calculated for 10 years, but there's a limited-time preferential interest rate, so I want to pay it off faster to avoid high interest rates.

If I exclude the loan, the largest regular expense is probably food. I don't particularly economize on products and don't choose only based on price. I'd rather buy what I like, products that bring me pleasure, and just normal food. I don't see the point in going to the other extreme: conditionally, eating red fish every day or constantly buying very expensive products just because I can afford it seems strange.

Unplanned expenses that can significantly change the budget for a particular month are most often related to health for Pavel.

I go to the café quite often. I almost never order delivery, because in Vitebsk everything is close enough and it’s easier to go yourself or grab something to go.

On average I manage to save more than a thousand dollars a month, usually somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500. I try to invest part of the savings so they don’t just sit idle. For example,

Friends sometimes ask to borrow money, and that does happen. There’s also a problem: I have acquaintances who earn less, and not all the entertainment options that seem normal to me in terms of price are accessible to them. Sometimes I want to go somewhere spontaneously, but our financial possibilities don’t match. Constantly paying for friends isn’t an option; it would be awkward for them themselves.

Maybe someone among my acquaintances and ...