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The survey found that 28% of respondents completely exhaust their monthly income, up from 21% in the comparable 2022 survey. A further 51% said they have only minimal room left after paying mandatory expenses.
Just 17% said they retain a medium amount, defined as 20%-50% of monthly income, or a larger amount exceeding 50% after regular expenses.
Provident said the results point to widening financial polarization in Hungary.
Hungary also recorded the highest share of people living paycheck to paycheck among the nine countries included in the international survey.
The comparable rate was 16% in Australia, 13% in the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania, 20% in Estonia and Romania, 17% in Mexico and 24% in Latvia.
The pressure is visible across most demographic groups, though some appear more financially resilient than others.
Among women, 32% said they have nothing left at the end of the month, compared with 24% of men.
Respondents with higher education were more resilient, with 17% reporting no financial surplus. The share rose to 32% among those with no more than secondary education.
Among employed respondents, 23% said they had no money left at the end of the month.
Financial vulnerability is compounded by limited emergency savings. Some 24% of households have no emergency reserve at all, compared with 14% in Lithuania and 13% in the Czech Republic.
A further 30% have savings that would last less than six months in the event of an unexpected loss of income. Only 36% have enough savings to cover six months or more.
Longer-term financial goals have also lost ground.
The share of Hungarians saving for a home purchase or renovation fell to 23% in 2026 from 37% in 2022. The proportion saving for travel or holidays declined to 17% from 24%.
Provident said the figures show that financing day-to-day living costs and maintaining short-term security have increasingly taken priority over longer-term wealth accumulation.
The picture on savings remains mixed. Some 37% of respondents said they save regularly and 27% occasionally, while 28% said they had been unable to save at all during the previous 12 months.
Among university graduates, 48% save regularly, compared with 34% of respondents with lower levels of education.
A geographic divide is also apparent. Some 35% of people living in villages said they were unable to save at all, compared with 24% of Budapest residents.
The survey also found a generational difference, with younger respondents tending to save occasionally, while middle-aged people were more likely to prefer fixed, deliberate savings.
Provident said prolonged financial pressure has also contributed to what it described as “budget fatigue.”
Although 81% of respondents still carry out some form of budgeting, the share who systematically plan larger expenses fell to 33% this year from 41% in 2024.
The proportion of people who do not prepare a budget at all reached a record 16%.
Borrowing has also become less common. In 2026, 64% of respondents said they had not taken out or requested any form of loan in the previous year, up from 50% in 2025.
The comparable rate was 65% in the Czech Republic, while 57% of Romanians had used some form of borrowing.
Bank borrowing specifically declined to 10% from 14% in 2022. When consumers do choose to borrow, affordability remains the main consideration, including the type of interest rate, monthly installment and total amount repayable.
Despite greater financial pressure, confidence in dealing with financial products and services increased to 55% from 46% a year earlier, reaching the highest level in the period surveyed.
That put Hungary ahead of Poland at 53% and Latvia at 50%, but below the Czech Republic at 68%.
Confidence was highest among respondents with higher education at 69%, men at 60% and employed people at 59%. Among those living in smaller settlements, the rate was 51%.
The survey also found growing expectations that schools should take responsibility for financial education.
Some 49% of respondents highlighted the role of schools, the highest level measured in the survey. Support for the educational role of financial institutions fell to 26% from 34% in 2022, while 30% of respondents said the state should play a more active role.
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