The shopping behaviour is changing. (source: SME archive)
People in Slovakia are already starting to feel the first effects of the consolidation measures prepared by the government of Robert Fico (Smer).
Even a family of three living in a village and trying to save every euro will have to pay an additional €1,000 this year, despite not spending money on non-essential stuff such cinema and gym. This stems from a model situation calculated by the Sme daily.
Since basic VAT has increased from 20 to 23 percent, probably every one has noticed by now that, for example, they pay more when shopping. However, there are other fees that may have been overlooked and have increased, too.
The Sme daily prepared three model examples of how the consolidation is going to affect family budgets. The calculations are based on real prices, but the families in question are not real. The examples were calculated as if a person will not changed their behaviour this year. For example, even after the price increase, they have the same cell phone plans and do not look for cheaper options.
There is also a list of fees or taxes that were included on the list of consolidation measures, but are still affected by the latter, showing that all areas of life have been affected.
The examples only include items that have become more expensive; however, some goods have also become cheaper. The final total for each model family will therefore not correspond to the real costs of real families.
