More than three quarters of Portuguese families have serious anxieties as to how they are going to pay the bills, with 300,000 families facing real poverty.
The first ever Deco Barometer reveals that 77% of families live day-to-day when it come to money, but 23% of respondents admitting to living in comfort.
The barometer assessed standards of living on the basis of whether or not families are able to cope with the cost of housing, health, food, education, transport and leisure.
This survey was carried out in other European countries, where the percentage of households with financial difficulties also is high (61% in Belgium and 75% in Italy and Spain).
Expenses that seriously preoccupy Portuguese families are housing, with 55% also having difficulty in paying for electricity, water and gas.
Health costs are of deep concern for 45% of families. Going to the dentist is avoided by 59% of families and the cost of glasses and hearing aids also perturb 60% of Portuguese households.
Most claim to have no difficulty in putting food on the table but almost a third of families have to make restrictions.
Single-parent families suffer the worst with 32% living in poverty.