Almost six in 10 Bulgarians expect to be worse off next year, according to a Gallup International Balkan poll for the TV show "Referendum". Only 6% expect things to get better, and 23% expect no change.
More than half of those polled are already cutting some costs. For 11%, pay and income do not cover even basic needs. Another 29% just make ends meet, with nothing left over, and only 8% have money to save.
Food (90%) and household bills (86%) take the biggest share of family budgets. Transport and fuel, medicines, rent and loans come next. Just 2% think about holidays, and 5% named something else.
The results will be presented on a show about the budget. Economists Stoyan Panchev, Atanas Katsarchev, Lyuboslav Kostov, Mihail Krastev, Agop Kasparyan and Shteryo Nozharov will discuss who gains from the state budget plan, who pays for it and what it costs. They will also talk about how living standards will change, whether incomes can rise for everyone and what people can expect for their own budgets.