Single-person households tighten belts on rent but pour money into stocks, ETFs

The share of savings and time deposits in the financial portfolios of single-person households is shrinking, while the proportion held in stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is clearly on the rise.

These households spend about 40% of their monthly income on living expenses and, squeezed by rising monthly rents and prices, have developed notably planned spending habits — yet at the same time they are actively jumping into financial product investments. One in three borrowers has experience with so-called “debt investing” — taking out loans to invest in financial products.

According to the “2026 Korea Single-Person Household Report” published by KB Financial Group on Sunday, the share of savings and time deposits in single-person household financial portfolios stood at 28.3%, down 7.8 percentage points from two years ago. Meanwhile, the share of stocks and ETFs rose 6.1 percentage points to 21.1%, and virtual assets climbed 1.3 percentage points to 3.5%.

The figures suggest that, amid an unprecedented rally in the stock market this year, single-person households are actively moving their money into investment assets.

The shift was particularly pronounced among those in their 30s and 40s. The share of savings deposits fell 10.6 percentage points among those in their 20s and 9.9 percentage points among those in their 30s, while the decline was a modest 2.6 percentage points for those in their 50s. The share of stocks rose across all age groups, with the largest increases among those in their 30s (23.4%) and 40s (22.6%).

As the composition of financial products shifted, so did the institutions holding those assets — moving from banks to brokerages. Among financial institutions where single-person households hold assets, commercial banks still accounted for the largest share at 43.1%, but that was down 2.4 percentage points from 2024 (45.6%), and the deposit share also fell from 9.0% to 6.3%. The share held at brokerages rose 5.9 percentage points, from 22.6% to 28.6%.

Single-person households spent 39.3% of their monthly income on living expenses, 31.5% on loan repayments and 12.6% on savings, leaving discretionary funds at 16.6%. Compared with 2024, the share going to living expenses fell 1.5 percentage points while the share going to loan repayments rose 1.2 percentage points.

Breaking down living expenses by category, the share spent on monthly rent and maintenance fees rose 2.2 percentage points to 24.9% from 22.7% in 2024, while the shares for food and for leisure and shopping fell 0.7 percentage points and 1.8 percentage points, respectively. Rising housing costs have effectively squeezed spending on food and entertainment.

On spending habits and awareness, 55.8% of respondents agreed that they “regularly review and adjust their assets,” and 51.7% said they set a fixed monthly budget for spending and savings — reflecting stronger planned spending tendencies than two years ago.

The loan-holding rate among single-person households was 56.3%, up slightly from 54.9% in 2024. Secured loans outnumbered unsecured loans, and among secured loans, jeonse deposit loans accounted for the largest share.

The share of borrowers who said they had used loans to invest in financial products rose 5.2 percentage points to 34.0%, up from 28.8% in 2024. The share currently using borrowed funds to manage financial products also increased, from 11.3% to 15.5%. This confirms that leveraged investing is one of the drivers behind the money shift toward stocks.

The average amount invested using loans was about 30 million won ($20,200), with domestic stocks and ETFs the most common destination, followed by virtual assets and then overseas stocks and ETFs.

The report also examined employment trends among single-person households. The share participating in supplementary income activities rose 17.6 percentage points over four years, from 42.0% in 2022 to 54.8% in 2024 and 59.6% this year — meaning three in five are “multi-jobbers,” people with two or more sources of income, who earn outside their primary job.

Most said they took up supplementary income activities for “voluntary reasons” (79.5%), with the primary motivation being “building a cushion or emergency fund” (40.4%), reflecting a strong orientation toward preparing for the future.

The most common supplementary activity was app-based earning — such as daily check-ins and points accumulation — at an overwhelming 75.1%, rising to 89.0% among those in their 20s. This was followed by social content creation such as blogging at 11.7%, service-sector part-time work at 8.0%, delivery riding at 5.5%, and document writing and translation at 5.4%.

While 40.6% said they were satisfied with their jobs, negative emotions ran high — with “anxiety” and “stress” cited as the first associations that came to mind when thinking about work.

The report also found that satisfaction with single-person household life (73.5%) and the intent to continue living alone (58.3%) have been consistently rising. The report interpreted this as a sign that solo living is no longer a transitional phase but is becoming a universally accepted way of life in its own right.

Lifestyle patterns also reflected an active embrace of solo living. Notable examples include a willingness to try new and diverse foods and a shift toward premium, health-conscious food choices even at higher prices.

The report was based on a survey of 2,000 men and women aged 25 to 59 who had been living alone for at least six months in major cities nationwide and were engaged in independent economic activity. The survey was conducted from Feb. 25 to March 23 this year. KB Financial Group has now published its single-person household analysis report for the seventh time since the inaugural edition in 2017.

KB Financial Group’s management research institute said the report aimed to highlight single-person households “not as a temporary phenomenon confined to a specific generation, but as a form of life that anyone may encounter at some point,” adding that it sought to portray them “as active agents who design their own lives across work, consumption and asset management.”

ehkim@heraldcorp.com