elamumajandus

Elamumajandus is a field that concerns the management of a household’s resources and activities to support the well-being of its members. It covers how families plan and use money, time, energy, and space to meet daily needs and achieve longer-term goals.

The scope includes budgeting and expenditure planning, housing maintenance, energy use and efficiency, food planning and nutrition, health and safety, and time management within the home. It combines practical daily skills with concepts from economics and social sciences, emphasizing efficient, sustainable, and balanced decision-making. In many contexts it is closely related to home economics, consumer economics, and family studies.

In practice, elamumajandus involves activities such as comparing housing options, managing rent or mortgage payments, budgeting utilities and other recurring costs, keeping financial records, planning meals, reducing waste, and performing basic home maintenance or repairs. It also considers how families adapt to changes in income, housing circumstances, or household composition, and how policies on housing, energy, and social welfare affect household choices.

The concept is used in education and policy to promote financial literacy, sustainable living, and resilience against economic stress. While rooted in everyday life, elamumajandus provides a framework for analyzing how households allocate scarce resources and how individual and collective decisions impact overall well-being and society.

Etymology: elamu means dwelling and majandus means economy or management.