Living on Credit: Why Ukrainians Buy Gadgets for 2-3 Salaries

Showing off, loans and marketers: the three modern horsemen of the Apocalypse.

According to data from the Ministry of Finance, the average salary in Ukraine in August 2019 was UAH 10,537, and in Kyiv in the same month it was UAH 15,694. Meanwhile, the new iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro cost from UAH 25,000 and from UAH 36,000 respectively, which is roughly 2-3 average salaries for Ukrainians.

Apple laptops cost even more: for example, the 2019 MacBook Air in its base configuration will cost UAH 36,000, while the 2019 MacBook Pro in the same configuration will cost UAH 41,000.

So why do Ukrainians keep buying gadgets that cost 2-3, or even 4, average salaries?

Showing off

The era of capitalism goes hand in hand with the era of consumption: together, they literally force most of us to buy unnecessary or unreasonably expensive goods for one reason or another. One of those reasons is showing off.

People have always wanted to be better than those around them, but the ways of achieving this goal have differed across times. Today, 'cool' means an iPhone and freedom. A few decades ago, 'coolness' was measured by one's job title and car, and long ago, being 'cool' meant owning a large plot of land and a close, hardworking family.

Showing off is about envy. 'Why does she have a more expensive dress than me?', 'Why did he deserve this cool SUV more than I did?', 'I would also like to have such a luxurious wedding on the ocean shore.' Some are eaten up by envy, and some work harder to reach new goals, but all of them act for the benefit of business.

Loans

It seems that just 10 years ago, loans were something frightening and serious that required a considered approach and a balanced decision. Loans were mostly used to buy apartments and cars, pay for expensive treatment and, in extreme cases, pay for a wedding.

Today, however, loans have become available even to 18-year-old unemployed students. To get a consumer loan for a new iPhone, all you need is a passport, a tax ID number and 1-2 contact persons (at least one of whom must verbally confirm your income). That is how you can buy a gadget costing UAH 20,000-30,000. A good credit history and an income certificate increase not only the chances of getting a loan but also its size many times over.

Now loans have stopped being something serious and have become a simple way to get the desired gadget right now, even without having the money for it. And loans would not serve the showing off from the first point without the marketers from the next point.

Marketers

The modern global evil and the main accomplices of the consumer era, marketers, are exactly the ones responsible for everything happening in today's market. They will sell you a beautiful coffin 20 years before your death, push a 'unique and super useful' robot vacuum on someone renting 20 square meters, and even convince a person without a driver's license to buy a brand-new Mini Cooper.

It is marketers who create the perfect picture: a girl is a model who reads books, cooks and raises children; a guy is an athlete, smart, drives an expensive car and runs a business to provide for the 'wants' of his wife and children (read: to provide for the family).

This picture then helps sell practically anything: sportswear, footwear and nutrition, weight-loss products, books, magazines, notebooks, toys, cars, gadgets and many, many other things.

Sometimes the perfect picture changes, which means new marketers enter the market, wanting to grab a piece for the other business they work for. Is body positivity in vogue? Then global brands deliver plus-size clothing and matching ad campaigns. Is 'mindful' consumption in vogue? Stores are already waiting with 'budget' smartphones and laptops. And what a huge chunk the sports business once managed to take from the alcohol and tobacco industries.

Unfortunately, this is exactly how capitalist society works: it needs to earn and produce as much as possible, and for that, humanity needs to consume as much as possible (ideally without thinking).