Signs of over-indebtedness: how to tell if you already have too much credit

The effort rate at the red limit

The first major mathematical symptom of over-indebtedness is the effort rate. This rate represents the percentage of your net salary that is exclusively used to pay installments to the bank. If your expenses with mortgage credit, car financing, and personal loans exceed 40% of your salary, your budget has entered the danger zone. Without room for maneuver, any unexpected expense, such as an urgent visit to the dentist, will cause a hole in your accounts.

Use credit to pay for basic needs

One of the most serious warnings occurs when the salary runs out in the middle of the month and the credit card balance is used to pay for water, electricity, or groceries. The credit card should never be an extension of your income. If you are financing survival expenses with money from a bank that charges very high interest, the spiral of debt has already begun.

Bank notices and payment failures

When you start ignoring calls from unknown numbers and receiving letters from the bank for late payments, the situation calls for radical measures. Late payment of installments generates late fees that cause the debt to grow uncontrollably from one month to the next, pushing your name onto the "blacklist" of the Bank of Portugal.

Don't wait for the problem to get worse!

Regain control of your finances today. With the help of Poupança no Minuto, you can consolidate all your loans into one and reduce your total payment by up to 60%, gaining the flexibility you need at the end of the month.