Subject The article investigates financial decisions of the population that are implemented within the process of financial planning.
Objectives The purpose of the study is to examine a financial behavior of the population during cyclical changes in the Russian economy, show the influence of economic downturn on financial and consumer behavior of people, analyze trends in consumer confidence and population ranking by decile groups.
Methods The methodology of the study relies on statistical and comparative analysis, generalization, forecasting, and scientific abstraction.
Results We analyzed the loan debt of the population, calculated changes in incomes by decile groups, compared trends in savings and obligatory payments as a percentage of income, demonstrated the dynamics of consumer confidence index over the period under study, summarized market factors accompanying the stages of economic recession in Russia.
Conclusions Decreasing real incomes and the poverty impede the formation of consumer preferences. Therefore, financial and consumer behavior during recession depends on the learned experience of adaptation to negative macroeconomic changes.