Paying bills in Denmark is something that should concern anyone who is moving to the country. As a person, you will need you to carefully plan your budget lest it becomes too overwhelming. When you come to Denmark from a country where the cost of living is relatively low, you will probably be excited at the good salaries that employers pay.
Actually, employers in Denmark pay employees way better than a large economies such as USA. So in general, the high salaries paid in Denmark may entice people to look towards travelling there for work. With all the excitement and jolliness that comes with landing a job in Denmark, be on the watch out. The bills may just be over the roof and without a proper plan, you may just start asking whether coming to Denmark was really the best choice.
A friend once hilariously commented that Denmark appears a good country for workers but when you enter, the bills will give a different story. That you get paid handsomely on one hand and then it’s taken away on the other. In fact, people easily get surprised and even become self-sympathetic at how fast and tight their monthly budget in Denmark is.
What Bills will I need to pay in Denmark?
Denmark is generally a rich country, thanks to an efficient government and the enduring social system that seeks to provide everyone with liveable conditions. But this is a picture that is cut at the general level. When you narrow down to look at the budget of an individual living in Denmark, the story could be astonishingly grim. See a few of the bills that will come beckoning at you every other month of your stay in Denmark.
Paying Rent in Denmark
In Denmark, paying rent will cost you a big chunk of your salary. Roughly 40% of thereabout of your income will go to paying rent. Of course this amount will go up or down depending on where you stay, your house size and such.
Ordinarily, it is your personal responsibility to pay your rent when it falls due. Failure to pay your rent in time will attract a reminder which comes with a reminder fees. After the reminders have not been answered, you will then be issued with an eviction notice.
14 days after the eviction notice has been issued to you, the landlord will then be allowed to throw you out of your apartment. This can be embarrassing and traumatising at the same time especially if you have children with you.
In case you are facing difficulties with paying your rent, it would be a good idea to contact your municipality just so in case they can see a way out. There is always a provision for housing allowance which the municipality can see if that can be extended to you.
Paying for heating and water in Denmark
Denmark is chilling cold which is even one of the reasons why most people would rather consider going to other countries but not Denmark. Because heating is a critical part of making your house liveable, the amount is always included together with your rent in what is called a conto in Danish. In Denmark, an average family pays up to 18,979 kroner in hating supply. This expense may even increase over the years.
Similar to heating is water supply to houses in Denmark. The bill for water is always included in a conto and you will have to pay it at the same time with rent. In your tenancy agreement in Denmark, you will ordinarily find a water and heating included as part of the items to be paid for.
The amounts you pay for heating and water are already decided in the tenancy agreement. In some cases, you may need to pay extra should it be that you exceeded the set limits. In such a case, a separate bill will be sent to you showing how much you have used and the extra units of let’s say water or heat.
Motor vehicle bills in Denmark
Owning a car in Demark is not a luxury because you will obviously need to drive out at odd hours when the train or bus is not available. Maybe you work night shifts or just want to go places without inconveniences of having to connect train or buses. If you have children then there are lots of activities that they will need to attend that you as a parent must drive them there. So a car is necessity in Denmark.
Periodic Taxes for Motor Vehicles in Denmark
With a car in Denmark, be ready to pay vehicle weight tax, green vehicle tax, CO2 vehicle tax and other taxes. This payment always comes every six months and can be to the tune of up to kr. 3000 or even more. You don’t want to imagine a case where such kind of a bill coincides with other equally expensive bills. It is mind blowing I tell you.
Car Insurance
With the car also comes car insurance in Denmark. The car insurance companies in Denmark will be on your case as soon as you get a car. Remember, it is not possible to own a car without the compulsory third party liability insurance. In fact when you buy a used car in Denmark, it is part of the transfer of ownership that you choose from a list of insurance companies.
The third party liability insurance will roughly cost you kr. 250 per month but will be higher if you choose to add other products like roadside help, cash payout in case a car is badly damaged, you hit an animal, or want car wash.
As much as your car in Denmark will give you convenience when moving around, it also comes with some burdens. You will easily get a parking fee or a fine for driving on wrong roads in the city. In Denmark, you never know when the control officer is on the other side of the road. They will not bother you with quarrels or cause unnecessary scenes. it is as simple as taking your car registration and then a ticket issued to you. Funnily, he will tell you “have a nice day” then give you that fake Danish smile. You may even feel like retorting back “phew! nice day my foot”
It is a common mistake that even most experienced drivers in Denmark will find themselves on the wrong side of the law and have to part with up to kr. 650 for such a simple mistake. It is outrageous but that is the much Danish authorities think necessary to create order.
How to manage your bills in Denmark
As you can already see, most people in Denmark work to pay their bills and a little left for buying a few personal needs and that’s all. It can sometimes get crazy if you don’t consider what bills may come to you at the end of the month. It is proper not to indulge in anything or make financial commitments without knowing how much cost is attached to them.
You don’t need to go for a car if it does not help you make more money. In any case, the public transport system in Denmark is already very efficient save for the fact that they have time schedule for operations.
Sign up for Payment Service in Denmark
Assuming that you have not found yourself with just so many bills to pay all at the end f the month, its difficult to go picking one by one. So all you need to do is sign up for automatic payment. Once the salary hits your bank account, then just live it there and all the bills which have been signed up for automatic payment will be taken. Only start spending the money for other stuff when all the automatic payments have been taken.
The popular automatic payment system in Denmark is betalingsservice which really helps you with managing your obviously many bills in Denmark. It can be a lot of work to do at the end of the month for anyone who does not have a payment service already up and running.
