A recent analysis conducted by Postova Banka showed that almost four out of five households are now struggling to make ends meet in Slovakia, running late with paying their bills.
The survey calculated that as much as 78.7% of households in the country are in arrears with their bills, with the situation affecting the whole country. As expected, the worst hit is the east, and although those in the more affluent west have better payment discipline, the figure there still comes to a surprising 70% of households finding it hard to get by.
The ripples of the economic crisis can still be felt and with around one in six people in the country unemployed and many more trying to run their own business with an increasing tax burden, the figures may not be so surprising, but still worrying.
This is pretty staggering. How come every where I go there is a new shiny BMW or Audi. Take a drive out to Rovinka or Dunajska Luzna where I live and you have got fully equipped houses with all the latest mod cons, not to mention exotic holidays to Dubai being advertised the list goes on. In a country where the average salary is 800-1000 EUR a month or less how do people here live this celebrity life style?!? Answers on a postcard.
There was a “survey” conducted by a national rag earlier this year on this topic. The most bemusing and telling figures to come from the interviews with differing families was that whilst all claimed to be finding difficult to make ends meet, all of them quite happily expended a large proportion of their disposable income on purely hedonistic items – One family admitting to spending 25% of their money just on mobile phone and internet bills whilst a second also admitted to spending over a third of the remaining cash on Pater’s visits to the pub. It would appear that whilst I have no doubt there are many families who are in difficult times there are just as many that can not get their priorities right.
Sadly so true DC, so true …A Slowvak without his mobile phone is bit like God without his personal Jesus ….
Can anyone tell me why in Socialist and with our Pal Bobby the saviour of the Slowvak nation in charge, Petrol is still so expensive here, as in Austria it is 12 cents a litre cheaper ???
Mobile phones, George? Only in Slovakia could the phone companies get away with selling or opening contracts for 4G phones months before the network licences were offered for sale, or then continue to sell them to the gullible before the network was built. 4G coverage is still hit and miss here but having the new shiny toy is more important than it actually working, which speaks volumes about the mentality of some people here. Have you noticed the increasing numbers of people walking around staring intently at their new toys, oblivious to other people walking around them, fixed items of street furniture, even road traffic, in the vain hope that some other sad prat will send them a message? Trying to look cool and hip, displaying to the world that you have the latest gadget all goes out the window when you fall over a pram or walk into a road sign! Still, as long as the natives have their beads and mirrors BnM and his White-hunters can take all the ivory and gold they can carry.
I am reading all these articles and finding it a scam portriat of bad business in government. The country seems to be making money,but they have all these corrupt schemes,which cause roadblocks.Your work is to be commended.
George, please go back to Italy.
Eric, clean the poop shoot, as your mouth wash is not making it .
So nothing much has changed here then in the last 20 years, with Slovaks not paying their bills or on time ?? Plenty of cash to go to the pub, the bars, the disco thou eh ? This country is still in a time warp …
Vote for Socialist Bobby, saviour of the Slovak people !!
( BTW, been away for a while , who is he shagging these days ? )
George, you’re a loser and the reason so few people come back to this site and get involved in discussion. Gettin’ old, huh?