Survey finds many Germans borrow money to cover daily expenses

Many Germans are relying on borrowed money to cover everyday expenses such as groceries, a representative survey commissioned by Barclays showed.

More than half of adults under the age of 50 borrowed money in the past two years, according to the poll by research institute Civey.

Most turned to family members (44%), while 40% used bank loans.

Beyond car-related costs (27%), respondents said borrowed funds were mainly used for daily necessities such as food (26.6%) and general consumption, including clothing (21.4%). About 18% borrowed “to treat themselves.”

Germany’s inflation rate rose to 2.2% in August, with food prices still above the levels they were a year ago. Economists expect inflation to remain above 2% in the coming months.

Younger adults were most likely to borrow: Over 60% of those aged 18 to 29 said they had taken out loans, with over a third citing essential expenses as the reason. Among 30- to 39-year-olds, 31.6% said daily needs were their main use of borrowed funds.

Nearly half of all borrowers (47.7%) borrowed less than €1,000 ($1,200). Smaller sums up to €200 were particularly common among the under-30s (28.8%). A quarter of respondents said they borrowed between €1,001 and €5,000.

Overall, almost one in three (31.9%) expects to need to borrow money within the next two years.

The representative poll questioned 10,007 adults across Germany in July and August.

Source: dpa

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