According to debt counsel Jessica Bertilsson, many Swedes are used to having a great car, a new phone and having to go on holiday every year.
PERSTORP Kenneth Kjellberg, 39, monthly expenses have been calculated on the memo board in the hall of the home: rent 800 euros, insurance 48 euros, telephone 28 euros. The electricity bill has not yet arrived.
Kjellberg writes down income and expenses so he can prepare for surprises. Such could be, for example, the fruit that Kjellberg’s daughter Novalien, 8, should bring to school for a picnic.
Kjellberg’s over-indebtedness began with small sums.
– I did stupid things, he says as he sits at the living room table. His cohabiting cat Bruce spins in his armpit.
The first loan was taken out by Kjellberg as soon as he reached the age of majority. He bought the furniture after moving to live on his own.
At the same time, incomes were irregular. Kjellberg has been a part-time chef in the restaurant industry.
He took out more loans and quick tips. Soon, payment difficulties led to recovery letters, foreclosure debts, and current interest on debts. In the end, the debt was about 65 thousand euros.
– I have been over-indebted practically my whole adult life, he says.
Record number of foreclosures
Over-indebtedness among Swedes is a concern that is increasingly being discussed in public debate.
This is almost € 700 million more than in 2020.
According to Kruununvoud, which handles foreclosures in Sweden, there are about 400,000 foreclosure debtors.
The number of indebted people has fallen in recent years, but they have been indebted for larger sums than before.
There are 560,000 bailiffs in Finland.
The Kingdom of Finland Juhani Toivola says that the difference between Finland and Sweden is due to the fact that there are more payments in Finland that are directly enforceable.
These are, for example, official fees or, for example, motor insurance.
In addition, it is cheaper for creditors in Finland to apply for debtors for foreclosure than in Sweden.
In Finland, the amount of debt seized is about 5.7 billion euros.
The difficulties for households are compounded by the fact that prices are rising at a rapid rate. In February, inflation was 4.5 per cent.
The debt ratio of Swedish households is already at a historically high level due to mortgages.
Households have a debt-to-income ratio of about 200 per cent. The corresponding figure for Finland is about 136.
“Sweden is a consumer society”
Debtor in the municipality of Perstorp Jessica Bertilsson the phone rings frequently.
He gets an average of two new customers each week. Today, she answers calls from her kitchen table, where she works remotely.
Perstorp is one of the small municipalities in northwestern Skåne with a large number of indebted people. Of Perstorp’s seven thousand inhabitants, more than eight percent have arrears. It is the second largest in all of Sweden.
There is high unemployment in the area and people’s education does not match the vacancies. Those who find a job often move out of the municipality.
Bertilsson has as many women and men as customers. There are fewer immigrants. According to Bertilsson, this is because they have lived in Sweden for less time and have not had time to accumulate debt.
– Sweden is a consumer society. It’s used to having to go on vacation once a year, have a new cell phone and a great car, he says.
Swedes are raising consumer credit at an increasing pace. They account for 20% of household loans.
– A loan is offered for every tick and a click is enough to get it. A click is also enough to buy the item.
A study by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority found that 4.5 per cent of those who take out consumer loans already receive a recovery letter during the first months of the loan. Almost one in ten Swedes under the age of 25 already receives such a letter.
The customer hid in the car
Debt counselor Jessica Bertilsson tells of a client who woke up in the morning at the same time as the rest of the family, ate breakfast and went to work.
In fact, he had become unemployed but did not dare to tell about it at home.
– He sat in the car eight hours a day and played online games that can also lose a lot of money.
After that, he went home.
The debt had time to grow considerably before the man told his family. The revelation of the situation was a relief to the man.
– The most important thing would be to be able to remove the shame associated with indebtedness. This is not a luxury problem, but it can happen to anyone, he sighs.
According to Bertilsson, over-indebtedness is usually caused by a crisis that distracts from spending money. For example, unemployment or serious illness.
Debt restructuring on demand
There was a turning point in Kenneth Kjellberg’s life when he became a father.
Kjellberg wanted her now eight-year-old daughter, Novalie, to have a better future.
He applied for and got into debt restructuring.
The debt restructuring procedure is intended for over-indebted people who are unable to repay their debts.
– If I could say something to my young self now, I would say don’t take that loan. Earn and save first and then buy, says Kjellberg.
In Sweden, the number of applicants for debt restructuring has increased in recent years, with the highest number among 18-34-year-olds.
However, applications from young people are often rejected because they are less indebted than their parents.
In the restructuring, the debtor pays the debt according to the payment plan and lives on the lower limit of the income support. After five years, the person is debt free.
In Finland, similar debt arrangements are also made for private individuals, but these are decided in the district court.
Kjellberg still has three years left.
– I can’t say how it feels. I cried when I got into debt restructuring.
You can discuss this topic until Tuesday, March 22 at 11 p.m.