Among Portuguese respondents who described themselves as living in a precarious financial situation, 75% blamed insufficient income.

That was one of the highest figures among the ten countries included in the study, behind Romania at 78% and France at 77%. Across Europe as a whole, 71% gave low income as the reason they were struggling.

Unexpected or particularly high expenses were the next most common cause, mentioned by 32% of Europeans experiencing financial difficulty. Health problems followed at 20%, excessive debt at 18% and losing a job at 14%.

The findings come from the latest poverty and financial insecurity barometer commissioned by French charity Secours Populaire Français.

Working, but still struggling

Having a job doesn’t necessarily mean earning enough to cover the bills.

Across the countries surveyed, 34% of workers said their income was not enough to cover all their expenses.

In Portugal, that rose to 42%, meaning more than two in five workers surveyed said their earnings fell short of what they needed.

The wider European results show just how tight household budgets have become. Some 29% of respondents described their financial and material situation as precarious, meaning an unexpected expense could be enough to knock their finances off balance.

Another 56% said they were managing but needed to watch their spending. Only 15% felt they could get through everyday life without paying particular attention to their expenses.

Those figures have barely moved. The proportion describing themselves as financially precarious was also 29% in 2025 and 28% in 2024.

Cutting back on everyday life

For several households, the pressure is already changing what they do and what they go without.

More than half of Europeans surveyed said financial difficulties had forced them into at least one form of deprivation during the previous six months.

Leisure was often the first thing to go. Among those affected, 67% said they had been unable to afford family outings or activities, while 62% had stopped going out to places such as restaurants or the cinema. More than half had cut back on travel and 50% had put off buying new clothes even when old ones had worn out.

Some of the findings went well beyond discretionary spending.

The study found that 41% had gone without heating because they could not afford it, 33% had decided against seeking treatment for a health problem because of the cost and 26% had skipped a meal because they did not have enough money.

There is some indication that people in Portugal feel less vulnerable about the immediate future than respondents elsewhere.

A third of Portuguese respondents (33%) believed they were at high risk of financial instability in the coming months. Across all ten countries, that figure was 43%, rising above 50% in Greece, Italy and Moldova.

The survey also found a widespread feeling that some basics of everyday life have become harder to afford than they were for previous generations, particularly energy, stable employment and decent housing.

Ipsos BVA carried out the research for Secours Populaire Français, interviewing 10,000 adults online, with 1,000 respondents in each country. Portugal, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, the UK, Moldova, Romania and Serbia were included. Interviews took place between 26 May and 6 July, with samples structured to represent the adult population of each country.