Our money
💸 Interest rate cut. The National Bank lowered its key interest rate to 1.85%, right after the European Central Bank (ECB) made its third rate cut of 2025. The move was widely expected as inflation continues to ease. Experts predict more cuts ahead, especially if inflation stays low. For homeowners with adjustable-rate loans, the change could mean monthly savings of up to 1,000 DKK per million borrowed.
🧠 ADHD and personal assistants. A Frederiksberg influencer sparked a national debate after sharing online that she applied for a publicly funded personal assistant to help manage her ADHD. While she praised the support, critics questioned whether successful entrepreneurs should receive taxpayer-funded help. Supporters argue the right to assistance is based on need, not income, and point out that even high earners pay taxes and deserve access to public services. With ADHD diagnoses rising, some warn the system can’t afford to fund assistants for everyone.
💸 Last call for old banknotes. Got a stash of old Danish banknotes or 1,000 DKK bills lying around? You have until May 31, 2025, to hand them in before they lose their value. Despite reminders and campaigns, 4.6 billion DKK worth of outdated cash is still out there. After the deadline, you’ll only be able to exchange them at Nationalbank branches in Aarhus, Odense, or Copenhagen until May 2026.
🏘️ From owners to renters. Around 682,000 people in Denmark now rent homes owned by companies, up from just 246,000 in 2010. Cities like Aarhus and Copenhagen are seeing huge growth in company-owned rentals, often with sky-high rents. Local mayors warn this turns cities into VIP clubs for the wealthy and pushes out families with regular incomes. They’re calling for national reforms to decide what type of housing is built: owner-occupied, rental, or social.
Check the map to see the situation in your municipality.
💸 Renting means no nest egg. A homeowner who buys a 2.4 million DKK house can build approx. 550,000 DKK in wealth in just five years. Renters, on the other hand, just watch their money disappear in monthly payments. Experts warn this growing divide could lead to big differences in pension life quality. Many say owning has never been realistic, especially for single people with normal jobs.
State of the markets
💼 Stress on the rise, but few get compensation. A record 4,000 people reported stress as a work injury in 2023, most of them women. Yet men are more likely to receive financial compensation, even though far fewer report stress in the first place. Experts warn the numbers reveal both a gender gap and a cultural taboo, with men often hiding symptoms and women facing lower success rates when seeking recognition. Stress remains hard to prove as a workplace illness, and many cases go unreported altogether, making the true scale of the problem much bigger.
🧠 Mental health injuries don’t count unless they involve war. In Denmark, psychological work injuries like anxiety, depression, or burnout are rarely recognized. The current rules only accept PTSD and war-related depression, making it nearly impossible for people affected by poor leadership, bullying, or long-term pressure to get compensation. Even with thousands of new cases reported each year, most are rejected unless they stem from a single, extreme incident. Experts say the system is outdated and doesn’t match today’s workplace realities, where mental strain is a growing issue across all sectors.
📉 A new Megafon poll shows over half of us expect the economy to worsen in the next year, mirroring a sharp drop in consumer confidence. The main culprit? Trump’s escalating trade war with China and renewed tensions with the EU. Though tariffs haven’t yet made everyday goods more expensive, economists say market uncertainty is already hitting pension savings and investment. On the upside, overproduction in China might push prices down in Europe, but a global downturn could still mean job losses, stalled wages, and a rocky road ahead.
🏅 Gold rush in uncertain times. Gold prices have hit a record high in Denmark — over 680,000 DKK per kilo — as investors seek shelter from global economic storms. With the US dollar wobbling, bond markets jittery, and central banks stocking up, gold’s reputation as a “safe haven” is shining brighter than ever. Experts say it’s not a get-rich-quick investment but more like a financial life jacket when other markets sink.
🐄 Despite growing demand for organic products, the amount of organic farmland has shrunk for three years in a row. To reverse the trend and reach the 2030 goal of doubling organic farmland, the government just increased subsidies. Experts say switching to conventional farming has simply been more profitable lately, especially with milk prices up.
