Economic security of households and their savings and credits

Uncertainty associated with the future and the lack of full protection against the financial consequences of adverse events are the most important reasons of research on economic security of households. Literature distinguishes between two basic concepts: economic insecurity and economic security. Economic insecurity refers to the economic losses, whereas security is usually associated with certain conditions, the fulfillment of which is a guarantee of well-being of the individual. The proposed interpretation of economic security combines both elements, including risk factors and risk protection. They are included in the scenarios of possible changes of the household’s situation in the future. These scenarios cover all permissible combinations of future events – both positive and negative – allowing for an assessment of their financial implications. Analyzes resented in the empirical part show that the main factor affecting the economic security of households, for which the work is the main source of income, is the stability of employment. Changes in the level of economic security to a large extent reflect the situation on the labor market. The impact of savings proved to be relatively small. It means that many households prefer current consumption, making economic security solely on job stability.