Over the last year, wholesale food prices in Bulgaria have risen by over 50%.

And only for the last two weeks - since the Christmas holidays, the increase is 0.6 percent.

Against this background, NSI data show that 78% of families in our country have difficulties covering their daily expenses.

Nearly 70 percent indicate that their salaries have not changed during the year.

A survey by the institute shows that January - the month after the holidays - is among the hardest, and many people in the country share that during this period they also spent part of their savings.

The family of Diana Ivanova from Ruse consists of 3 people.

Diana says that they spent about BGN 700 on gifts and festive meals, after taking advantage of various Christmas discounts.

Now they are mostly worried about the bills they will have to pay in January for water, electricity and heating.

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"We buy each other gifts and of course the money runs out. And now we have tax payments coming up, bill payments from December. The water has been increased, especially in Ruse, and at the moment our water bill is bigger than the electricity bill. And we we heat with steam and steam is as much as water," says Diana.

The Ivanovs are considering savings to meet their usual expenses in January, but now they know it's going to be tough.

"If in previous years the savings helped, I don't think they will help this year, because the prices of food products are rising. An egg already costs 60 cents, and we are talking about an egg, not cheese, bread, milk or meat," explained Ivanova.

However, according to the experts, there are little tricks that will help us in January.

Food prices in Bulgaria have risen by nearly 52% in a year

"In order to not have problems with finances in January, we should have set aside funds three or four months before," comments Desislava Nikolova, financial analyst.

If you do not have a detailed budget, experts advise you to apply the 50:30:20 rule. This means that you should set aside 50% of your income for urgent needs such as rent, food, transportation costs.

Then comes 30%, which includes pay TV, home improvement expenses, entertainment.

Save the last 20%.

"If we haven't saved anyway and in January we can't meet fixed expenses, the last option, which is also the worst, is to resort to a quick loan. This is the most expensive option for a person to cover his expenses. It's very risky, there are many hidden fees. It's very easy, but it's better to borrow money from relatives, friends," recommends Desislava Nikolova, financial analyst.

According to the financial analyst, it makes more sense to use the credit card for purchases, but not to withdraw cash from it because the fees are high.

A study shows that during the holidays we spent nearly 18% more compared to the same period last year.

According to experts, however, this is not the result of people getting richer and, accordingly, spending more.

Rather, they explain it with the increase in food prices, which is between 20 and 50% compared to last year.