Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Strømregningen er høy i år, så inntekten min føles mindre, jeg blir litt stresset, og jeg prøver å være mer økonomisk. - The electricity bill is high this year, so my income feels smaller, I get a bit stressed, and I try to be more economical.

inntekten min
- Noun in definite form (inntekten = the income) + possessive min.
- Very common, neutral, and natural in everyday speech when you talk about your own, specific income.
- Often used when the thing is already known or specific: inntekten min, huset mitt, boka di.
min inntekt
- Possessive min
  - indefinite noun (inntekt).
- Can sound slightly more formal or emphatic, sometimes contrastive:
  - Min inntekt er lav, men hennes er høy. (My income is low, but hers is high.)

In this sentence, you’re clearly talking about your usual, specific income (the one you normally have), so inntekten min is the most natural choice.

Why is mindre used here and not lavere?

In Norwegian, you choose between mindre and lavere roughly like this:

mindre = less / smaller amount
- Comparative of liten/lite.
- Used a lot for quantities, including money.
- inntekten min føles mindre = my income feels like a smaller amount / feels like I have less money.
lavere = lower
- Comparative of lav.
- Used for levels, height, rates:
  - lavere lønn (lower salary – the actual pay rate is lower)
  - lavere pris (lower price)

You could say inntekten min føles lavere, but mindre fits very well when you mean “I feel like I have less of it (left)” rather than “the official salary number has gone down.”

Why do we use høy strømregning and not stor strømregning?

Norwegian normally uses høy for things like prices, bills, interest rates, taxes – anything that is “high” in an abstract, numerical sense.

høy strømregning, høy husleie, høy pris, høye kostnader
- Like English high electricity bill, high rent, high price.

stor is more about physical size or “big” in a more concrete sense:

stor bil (big car), stort hus (big house).

If you say stor strømregning, it can sound like the piece of paper is physically big. The idiomatic way to talk about the amount you have to pay is høy strømregning.

What exactly is så doing in …, så inntekten min føles mindre …, and why isn’t it så føles inntekten min mindre?

Here så is a coordinating conjunction meaning so / therefore, connecting two full clauses:

Strømregningen er høy i år, så inntekten min føles mindre …
The electricity bill is high this year, so my income feels smaller …

As a coordinating conjunction, så works like og:

Jeg kom sent, så jeg mistet bussen.
(not *så mistet jeg bussen in the same sense)

If you write Så føles inntekten min mindre, then så is no longer a conjunction but an adverb meaning then / so / in that case at the start of a new sentence:

Så føles inntekten min mindre.
= Then my income feels smaller. (new sentence, narrative feel)

So:

…, så inntekten min føles mindre … = …, so my income feels smaller … (one big sentence, causal)
Så føles inntekten min mindre. = Then my income feels smaller. (a separate, slightly different statement)

Why are there so many commas in this sentence, even before og?

Norwegian comma rules are a bit stricter than English.

Comma before coordinating conjunctions when both sides are full clauses:
- Strømregningen er høy i år, så inntekten min føles mindre, jeg blir litt stresset, og jeg prøver å være mer økonomisk.
This is actually stylistically a bit heavy; many native speakers would split it:
- Strømregningen er høy i år, så inntekten min føles mindre. Jeg blir litt stresset, og jeg prøver å være mer økonomisk.
A comma before og is normal if it joins two independent clauses:
- Jeg blir litt stresset, og jeg prøver å være mer økonomisk.
  (clause 1: jeg blir litt stresset; clause 2: jeg prøver å være mer økonomisk)
But if og just joins words or short phrases, you do not use a comma:
- Jeg blir litt stresset og bekymret. (no comma: one clause, two adjectives)

Why is it jeg blir litt stresset and not jeg er litt stresset?

Both are possible, but they say slightly different things:

jeg blir litt stresset
- blir = become / get.
- Focus on the change or reaction caused by something.
- Here it means: Because the bill is high and my income feels smaller, I end up getting a bit stressed.
jeg er litt stresset
- er = am.
- Describes a state: I am (currently) a bit stressed.

In this context, blir nicely expresses that the stress is a result of the high bill and the situation.

What is stresset grammatically? Is it an adjective or a verb form?

stresset here functions as an adjective, describing how you feel.

It comes from the verb å stresse (to stress / to be stressed), whose past participle is stresset. That participle is often used as an adjective:

Jeg er stresset. (I am stressed.)
Jeg blir lett stresset. (I get stressed easily.)

In informal speech and writing, many Norwegians also say stressa:

Jeg er litt stressa.

In standard Bokmål, stresset is the neutral form.

What nuance does å være mer økonomisk have? Could I say å spare mer penger instead?

å være mer økonomisk means to be more economical / financially careful in general:

Watch your spending
Think more about your budget
Avoid unnecessary expenses

å spare mer penger is more specific: to save more money (e.g. put more into a savings account).

In this sentence, å være mer økonomisk is broader: not only “save money” but change your overall spending habits because bills are high. If you want to emphasise just saving, you could absolutely say:

…, og jeg prøver å spare mer penger.
(…and I’m trying to save more money.)

Both are correct; they just highlight slightly different aspects.

Does økonomisk here mean “economic” (like the subject) or “economical” (careful with money)?

Here økonomisk clearly means economical / thrifty / careful with money.

Norwegian økonomisk can mean:

Economical / efficient
- en økonomisk bil (an economical car)
- å være økonomisk (to be thrifty)
Economic (related to the economy as a field)
- økonomisk vekst (economic growth)
- økonomisk politikk (economic policy)

Context tells you which meaning is intended. In jeg prøver å være mer økonomisk, it’s about personal finances and spending habits, so it’s the “economical” meaning.

Why is i år at the end of Strømregningen er høy i år? Could I say I år er strømregningen høy?

Both word orders are correct, but they sound slightly different:

Strømregningen er høy i år.
- Neutral statement: The electricity bill is high this year.
- Subject (Strømregningen) first, then verb (er), then time adverb (i år).
I år er strømregningen høy.
- Puts extra emphasis on this year (contrast with other years).
- i år is moved to the front (topicalisation), and the verb still stays in second position (er).

So:

If you just state a fact: Strømregningen er høy i år.
If you want to highlight the contrast (“this year, unlike other years”): I år er strømregningen høy.

How is strømregningen formed, and why is it definite?

strømregningen is a compound noun in definite form:

strøm = electricity
regning = bill
strømregning = electricity bill
strømregningen = the electricity bill

The -en at the end is the definite article (“the”) attached as a suffix.

It’s definite because you’re talking about your household’s specific bill, not just any electricity bill in general. Similar patterns:

huset = the house
telefonregningen = the phone bill
husleien = the rent

What is the difference between inntekt and lønn?

Both relate to money you get, but they’re not identical:

lønn
- Specifically your salary / wages from a job.
- Lønna mi er 35 000 i måneden.
inntekt
- Income in a broader sense: salary + possible extra income (rental income, interest, benefits, etc.).
- Årlig inntekt, skattepliktig inntekt.

In everyday talk, people sometimes use lønn and inntekt almost interchangeably when they just mean “what I get paid”, but strictly speaking inntekt is the wider term.

Could I say inntekta mi or strømregninga instead of inntekten min and strømregningen?

That depends on the variety of Norwegian you use:

In standard Bokmål, the usual forms are:
- inntekten min
- strømregningen
In informal Bokmål / dialectal speech, especially where the feminine -a ending is preserved, you may hear:
- inntekta mi
- strømregninga

So:

Writing a neutral standard Bokmål sentence: stick with inntekten min, strømregningen.
In colloquial speech or dialect writing, inntekta mi / strømregninga is very natural.