As many as one-third of people in Finland are worried about their personal financial situation, according to a recent survey commissioned by financial services giant Nordea.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents to the survey said they have already changed their daily lives for financial reasons and 80 percent said they were keeping a closer eye on their spending than they were before interest rates and prices began to rise.
Nordea's survey found that 36 percent of people said they find the current economic situation to be generally distressing, while 32 percent said they experience quite 'a lot' or 'a lot' of anxiety because of the situation.
Such concerns were particularly high among women and families with children. About half of respondents said they were more cautious about their finances and also more careful about their future plans than before.
Changing habits
Meanwhile, about one-fifth of respondents said they were worried about their loved ones. However, 11 percent of the survey participants said they did not have any concerns about their own — or other people's — finances.
Nearly six out of 10 respondents said they have changed three or four things in their everyday lives, on average, because of rising prices and interest rates. These changes usually were reflected in choices at the supermarket, electricity use and the use of services.
People said they have cut back or bought more affordable foods at the grocery store and made efforts to save electricity. Respondents were also likely to have reduced spending on events, delivery services, visits to restaurants and other leisure activities.
Meanwhile, just over 30 percent of respondents living in Northern and Eastern Finland said they had cut back on their driving, while about 20 percent of people in the capital region said they were using their cars less.
The survey was commissioned by Nordea and carried out by polling firm Kantar TNS between 29 September to 4 October, querying 1,059 people in Finland aged 18-79.