One in three Bulgarians have diffculties paying their bills, survey

Almost one in three Bulgarians have difficulties paying all their bills, according to a Eurofund survey conducted in the spring of 2022.

The most serious difficulties in the entire European Union, including in Bulgaria, people have with paying their utility bills.

According to the survey, 27% of the people in the country are unable to pay their bills. On a European scale, citizens' indebtedness is also growing. The biggest increase in debt is in utility bills, where the number of people who are behind with payment has risen by 5% in just two years.

The rise in energy prices is expected to exacerbate this trend. There has also been a rise in consumer credit defaults and a two per cent increase in telecoms debtors. As regards rents and mortgage repayments, there has been no increase in debtors on a European scale, but in this country there is an updating of rents in view of rising inflation.

Residents of Sofia commented:

"For the moment I have not defaulted, but it struck me that the balancing bill for Sofia district heating is quite high, over 750 BGN. - Have you had to deprive yourself of some things lately? - Yes, I am already thinking about what expenses I am making."

"I'm struggling a lot, all the bills have gone up a lot and it's very difficult. – Which bills do you find most difficult to pay? - The electricity and the water. And now looking at the heating bills, I just don't know how I'm going to get on. I may have to start two jobs to make it."

But besides finding a second job and cutting costs, there is another option to maintain our standard of living in the face of ever-increasing inflation. And that is to actively manage our income, however limited it may be.

"They are used to spending everything they earn. But they need to know even with the little money they earn they are saving 10 per cent for a rainy day, and what's more, if they find a place for that money and invest it in something that can give them a better return in the long run, they can achieve their prices and beat inflation in the long run," said Georgi Georgiev, portfolio manager.

It's not about investing in property and deposits, the experts add. And as the worst option to deal with a critical financial situation is a quick loan, they said.

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