EN 
DE 
Gunnar Saft
Dresden. Overestimating one's own financial possibilities is still the most common reason why people get into debt in Saxony. This is according to the answers given by Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) to a corresponding question from the Left Party in the state parliament.
Divorces or the death of a partner are also problematic
According to the survey, individual errors in personal household management were responsible for the majority of cases in which over-indebted people had to seek help from an advice center last year, accounting for almost 20 percent. This was followed by people who got into financial difficulties due to an illness, the consequences of an addiction or an accident, at just under 18%. In turn, 15.9% stated that they had accumulated debt due to their own unemployment. For a good eleven percent, the permanent receipt of a low income was the reason for financial hardship.
Personal problems such as separation or divorce from their previous partner or the death of their partner meant that one in ten of those affected could no longer cope with their personal financial budget. In just under seven percent of cases, this was ultimately due to the failure of their previous financial independence.
Single and single people are more likely to be in debt
According to the Federal Statistical Office, Saxons who contacted a debt advice center last year had already accumulated an average of 30,312 euros in deficits. More than half of those affected (53.3 percent) lived alone, with a further 35 percent living in a two- or three-person household. In contrast, the number of debtors from households with an even larger group of people was comparatively low at just over twelve percent.
At a good 54%, most of the over-indebted people were men, who had also accumulated significantly more debt than women (EUR 24,156) with an average of EUR 35,532. Around 62 percent of all people receiving advice were single. The age group most frequently affected by over-indebtedness was the 35 to 45 age group, which accounted for almost one in three of those affected. 91 percent of all those seeking help were German.
Higher number of unreported cases and therefore more people suspected to be affected
Susanne Schaper, member of the state parliament, social expert and leader of the Left Party parliamentary group, warns of the consequences when people find themselves in such a personal emergency situation: "Debt is not a problem in itself, but over-indebtedness is. In Saxony, it mainly affects single people between the ages of 25 and 55, with almost three quarters having less than 1,500 euros a month at their disposal. These are alarming figures. Because the information provided by the advice centers is voluntary, we unfortunately have to assume that there is a number of unreported cases. In the worst case, those affected are threatened with homelessness. The main causes of over-indebtedness are unemployment, a low income, health problems or a lack of financial knowledge. The sharp rise in prices further exacerbates these problems."
Getting into debt is often made unnecessarily easy
At the same time, she criticizes the fact that it is often made very easy for those affected to live beyond their means. According to Schaper, the option of online shopping, often with a 30-day payment extension, expensive cell phone contracts, high overdraft interest rates and other expensive loans quickly lead to a debt trap. Only the banks would benefit from this. Her demand: "The state government must properly fund insolvency counseling and debt counseling centers and strengthen consumer protection, including the consumer advice center. Above all, young people must be able to acquire financial knowledge at an early age - not from shady influencers, but at school: how do I make the most of my income, including in the long term, and avoid over-indebtedness?"
There are around 1,350 debt advice centers in Germany that are run by consumer and welfare associations or local authorities or are members of one of these associations. For the 2023 reporting year, 671 advice centers provided information on around 175,000 people.
