A mortgage via a ‘contact at Banco de Portugal’ is a scam, car insurance can be haggled down, a €50 wage rise draws scorn
An estate agent promised a mortgage without a guarantor through a ‘contact at Banco de Portugal’. Reddit says it’s a scam
A couple are about to take out a mortgage, and their credit intermediary has told them they cannot get one without a guarantor (fiador). Then the estate agent who had been showing them flats offered to help, claiming to have someone at the ‘Banco Central de Portugal’ who would ‘approve’ the loan without a guarantor and fix the rate for 90 days. The poster asked r/literaciafinanceira what to make of it.
The replies were almost unanimous: walk away. There is no such thing as Banco Central de Portugal; there is Banco de Portugal, the central bank. It supervises banks and issues money, but it does not lend to individuals or approve other banks’ loans. People advised the poster to stop trusting the estate agent and to report the agent.
“This story could end badly. First, Banco Central de Portugal does not exist; there is Banco de Portugal. Second, Banco de Portugal supervises banks and credit institutions and issues notes and coins. It is not a bank where you go to open an account and ask for a loan. Get out of there and report that agent straight away.”
r/literaciafinanceira28.10.2026
You can check up on a credit intermediary: everyone authorised to work as one is on the list on the Banco de Portugal website. If someone is not on it, do not give them money or documents.
According to the replies, banks lend without a guarantor if you have a deposit, a permanent job and a monthly repayment that is a small share of your salary. Not every bank asks for a guarantor: the poster was advised to tell the intermediary plainly ‘let’s try without a guarantor’ and see which banks approve the loan, or to go round the banks themselves. Someone who is getting a mortgage right now noted that if a bank wants a guarantor, there is something it does not like: no permanent contract, too small a deposit, or existing debts.
“It looks like the estate agent realised you already have an intermediary and is trying to sell you his own intermediary’s services by making up some amazing connections. Not all banks will ask for a guarantor: tell your intermediary, ‘Let’s try without a guarantor and see which banks approve.’ If none of them do, then think about a guarantor.”
r/literaciafinanceira28.10.2026
“I’m getting a mortgage right now too, and I’ll say one thing: if they’re asking you for a guarantor, something about your situation isn’t right. Do you both have employment contracts? Permanent ones? Do you have money for the deposit? Any debts?”
r/literaciafinanceira28.10.2026
The minimum wage will rise by €50 to €970 in January. The minister calls that no small amount; Reddit points to rents
From 1 January 2027 the minimum wage on the mainland will rise from €920 to €970 a month before deductions, as set out in the draft budget for 2027 (see our article). The labour minister told Expresso in an interview that €50 is ‘no small amount for a country like Portugal’. People on r/portugal disagreed.
The most upvoted reply was about rent: the government calls rents of up to €2,300 a month ‘moderate’, and that is not moderate for a country like Portugal either. Others pointed out that when fuel goes up, the authorities say Portugal’s prices are in line with the rest of Europe, but when it comes to wages they remember the country is not rich.
“Rent of €2,300 isn’t moderate for a country like Portugal either.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
“When fuel prices go up, they boast that we’re on a par with the rest of Europe. When the minimum wage goes up, they boast that for a country like Portugal it’s actually very good.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
Some thought the rise was fine: 5.4% in a year is more than many people earning above the minimum get. One person wrote that the minimum wage should have been around €1,200 long ago, but it will only grow if the country stops living off tourism and cheap labour. Several people complained that pay above the minimum hardly grows and is eaten up by inflation.
“In percentage terms that’s a 5.4% rise in monthly pay. Plenty of people can only dream of that.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
“€50 is nothing after the inflation we’ve been through. It’s time to find a way to raise all wages: for those earning above the minimum, they’re shrinking too.”
r/portugal30.10.2026
Allianz put a driver’s car insurance up by 20% despite no accidents; Reddit advises haggling every year
A driver received a renewal notice for their car insurance with Allianz: the premium had gone up by 20%, from €287.24 to €344.69, or €387.07 with taxes and charges. The driver had had no accidents. The breakdown put 3.98% down to the accident rate, another 3.98% to inflation and 12.04% to ‘other’, described as ‘a combination of many factors’. The driver asked r/literaciafinanceira whether this was normal.
The consensus was that it is normal for an insurer to raise its prices, but you do not have to accept it. Almost everyone gave the same advice: a month before renewal, get quotes (simulação) from other insurers, then either switch to the cheaper one or show that quote to your own insurer and ask them to match it. Some suggest also getting a quote from your own insurer as if you were a new customer: it often comes out cheaper. One person rings every year and names the price they are willing to pay, the same as last year, and eight times out of ten the insurer agrees.
“The trick is to get quotes from all the other insurers 30 days before renewal. Then you compare: either you leave, or you send the competitor’s quote to yours and ask them to match it, or you stay if it’s already good. Do it every year with all your insurance.”
r/literaciafinanceira29.10.2026
“Every year they try to put my price up by 20%. I ring, say I don’t accept the new offer because the price isn’t in line with the market, and tell them how much I’m willing to pay: the same as last year. Eight times out of ten they agree.”
r/literaciafinanceira29.10.2026
Several people said Allianz had also put their premiums up by 15–20% without any accidents. One found an offer €100 cheaper. Another left the insurer OK for Logo, and only then did OK ring to ask why they had not called to ask for a discount. People advise doing the same check every year with all insurance policies and with the electricity contract.
“Something similar happened to me with OK, and I moved to Logo. When OK saw I’d asked for a transfer, they rang me and asked why I hadn’t called them to negotiate. I had no idea you now have to haggle like in a market in Marrakesh.”
r/literaciafinanceira29.10.2026
A seller on OLX was scammed through MB Way, and Reddit advises going to the police anyway: money is sometimes returned
The poster’s neighbour was selling something on the classifieds site OLX, and a ‘buyer’ persuaded the neighbour to hand over codes from MB Way, the app for transfers by phone number. Money then disappeared from the neighbour’s account. The poster asked r/portugal: if the bank knows which cash machines the money was withdrawn from using those codes, why have the scammers still not been caught?
People replied that there are thousands of such scams and the police are short of staff: asking a bank where and when money was withdrawn means slow paperwork, and it is not done in every case. Still, they advise reporting it to the police with all the details you have: one person had read of victims who later got a call about getting their money back and were asked whether they wanted to go to court.
“It’s simple: there are thousands of cases and hundreds of ‘guys’. There are very few resources to deal with it, above all people.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
“Report it to the police with whatever details you have. I’ve read stories of people later getting a call about getting the money back and being asked if they wanted to go to court.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
To receive money through MB Way, the seller does not need to do anything in the app or at a cash machine: the buyer simply transfers it to the seller’s phone number. Anyone who asks for a code or asks you to ‘confirm’ a payment is a scammer.
As the discussion noted, the people who fall for it are more often those who do not use MB Way themselves and do not know how it works.
“The only way not to get caught out with MB Way is to use it yourself. If you have it and know how it works, nobody will scam you. The trouble is that people trust complete strangers.”
r/portugal29.10.2026
Carry a newborn in a stretchy wrap for the first weeks and switch to a soft carrier later, mums on Reddit advise
At an antenatal class, a mum-to-be was advised to carry her baby in a carrier (marsúpio) from the first days at home so that the baby gets used to it. She has an Ergobaby Adapt: according to the instructions it is suitable from birth, from 3.2 kg, but on forums people say it is better to wait two or three weeks. She asked r/MaternidadePT where to start.
Most replied that in the first weeks and months a stretchy wrap (pano) is the most comfortable and secure option. It is cheaper than a carrier, and you can quickly learn to tie one from videos. One mum said the Ergobaby Omni is suitable from 50 cm according to the instructions, but her baby only sat securely in it at two months, at 56 cm. Another carried her daughter in a wrap until two or three months, then moved to the Ergobaby Adapt when the baby was about 55 cm and 4 kg, and used it until five or six months.
“Get a wrap. They sell them at SlingoCoisas, they’re easy to use and you can use them for a long time. I bought an Ergobaby Omni, and it isn’t for newborns. It says from 50 cm, but I can assure you my baby didn’t sit securely in it at that size. Only now, at two months and 56 cm, does he.”
r/MaternidadePT29.10.2026
“At first a fabric wrap is best. I used one until two or three months. Then the Ergobaby Adapt is a good in-between carrier, for when the wrap is no longer comfortable but the baby is still too small for a more structured one: about 55 cm and 4 kg. I used it until five or six months.”
r/MaternidadePT29.10.2026
People advised making sure the legs are in an ‘M’ position and the head and neck are supported. Several mums noted that there is no need to get a baby used to a carrier on purpose: theirs started at two or three months and loved it straight away. Those who cannot decide were advised to see a babywearing consultant: one mum had an online consultation with Leva-me Contigo and was happy with it.
“I don’t think you need a long time to get them used to it: mine started at two or three months and loved it straight away. Warm, comfy and close to the people they love most. But do what feels right and follow the carrier’s instructions.”
r/MaternidadePT29.10.2026
