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When the risk of over-indebtedness & poverty increases

Experts are observing a worrying trend in Carinthia: 80,000 people are considered to be at risk of poverty in the southernmost federal state according to debt counseling. However, there are also effective ways out of the debt trap.

Rising prices, inflation, exploding living costs - more and more people are reaching their financial limits. Andreas Pregl, Managing Director of the Carinthian Debt Counseling Service, and his team have their hands full again this year.

"The current developments - recession, rising corporate insolvencies, higher unemployment figures and the still high level of interest rates - unfortunately mean that the negative figures for the current financial year are not expected to flatten out, but rather worsen and thus confirm the negative trend that has been ongoing since 2021," says Pregl, who had already opened more than 400 debt settlement proceedings for private individuals by August alone.

More and more people in Carinthia are getting into financial difficulties, which is reflected in the current figures. We offer help at all times, with preventative measures being particularly effective.

Andreas Pregl, Chef der Schuldnerberatung Kärnten

Pregl: "In 2023, there were a total of 681 proceedings. However, the fact that our share is growing again also represents a certain level of trust. After all, we are here to help people."

What are the main reasons for over-indebtedness?
The main reasons for over-indebtedness are still unemployment and a lack of financial education. To counteract this, Pregl is increasingly relying on a special three-pillar model: "In addition to advising and representing over-indebted people, we offer additional prevention focuses: On the one hand in financial education, as more and more young people in particular are affected, and on the other hand with mobile advice sessions such as consultation days in the districts."

Help and information is available at: schuldnerberatung-kärnten.at