38 percent of those surveyed feel pressure on purchasing during Christmas, and one in four fear their finances in January due to high consumption in December.
The survey has been done by Norstat for Bank2.
It is above all those between the ages of 25 and 39 who feel increased buying pressure in Christmas. In this group, half of the respondents answered the question, while the proportion is only one in four in the age group 55-68 years.
At the same time, one in three of the youngest fear their finances in January because of December consumption, while the proportion is only 13 percent among senior citizens.
CEO Frode Ekeli believes Christmas has become a shopping celebration.
“We find that many people spend more on their credit cards than they want in the pre-Christmas time. In the new year, the bills will come, and then the consequences will come,” he says.
An important backdrop for the Norwegians economy in 2019 is the clear signal that interest rates will continue to rise.
Four out of five respondents in the Norstat survey are waiting for interest rates on loans from banks to increase next year, while only 7 percent answered, NO, to the same question.
Seven out of ten do not fear their repayment ability if the interest rate rises by 3 percentage points or more, while 22 percent of the respondents fear their repayment ability in such a scenario.
At the same time, only 10 percent of the respondents are considering linking all or part of the mortgage at fixed interest rates over the next six months. Half of the respondents answer no if they consider binding the loan.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
