Three out of four families had difficulty paying their bills in 2023, according to the annual Deco Proteste barometer, which highlights housing as a “key factor in the financial squeeze” and the Alentejo and Center as the regions with the most difficulties.
Aimed at measuring Portuguese families’ ability to pay their day-to-day expenses in six areas – food, education, housing, leisure, mobility and health – the barometer surveyed nearly 7,000 people, with 75% admitting to having difficulties paying their bills and 7% being in a “critical situation”.
“The housing crisis has emerged as one of the main factors in the financial squeeze on Portuguese families, suppressing any relief provided by the fall in inflation,” says Deco Proteste.
Pointing to the increase in interest rates as “one of the reasons why almost 28% of families face difficulties in paying off their bank loans”, the consumer protection association notes that “the value of rents has also contributed to the difficulties experienced”, with 23% of tenants “struggling to meet their rent payments”.
Although spending on mobility, health and food has improved, the barometer indicates that inflation “continues to negatively affect a considerable number of Portuguese”: Around a third (31%) of families say they find it “much more” difficult to pay for essential expenses, while 4% say it’s “mission impossible” and only a minority (6%) haven’t felt the impact of rising goods prices.
Single-parent and large families, as well as those in which one of the members is unemployed, stand out as having the most difficulties, and in the case of single-parent families, the available data states that “there are around 75,000 in Portugal who face a situation of extreme poverty”.
In an analysis by region, the Alentejo and the Center are pointed out as those where people live with the most difficulty, with Castelo Branco being the district in the worst situation and Bragança where people live “with the most ease”.
Based on the results of the survey, the association concludes that “the Portuguese outlook for the remaining months of 2024 is not optimistic” and predicts “an increase in financial difficulties in the current context of inflation and uncertainty over the evolution of mortgage interest rates”.
Food (meat, fish, vegetables and fruit, etc.), household bills (gas, electricity and water, etc.) and health are the expenses where, according to Deco Proteste, the biggest increases are expected.
In 2023, in the ranking of the 10 expenses that increased the most were house rent (11% more than in 2022), restaurants (+7%), loans (+6%), big vacations (+6%), books and streaming (+4%), higher education (+4%), concerts, theater, cinema, museums (+4%), sports activities (+4%), health (+4%) and vegetables and fruit (+4%).
The Deco Proteste survey was carried out between December 2023 and February 2024, and 6,734 valid responses were collected. In order to reflect the reality of the universe of Portuguese families, the data was weighted by age, gender, region and educational qualifications.
