Compared to 2022, households will spend more money before Christmas this year – not just on food, but also on many of the popular gifts. Prices have risen the most for sweets that are currently bought for St. Nicholas Day. Analyst Eva Sadovská knows the latest figures: “The increase here is currently 18 percent. We pay around 12 percent more for bread and grain products, but also for fish and seafood. Dairy products have become around eight percent more expensive. Meat and meat products cost nine percent more.”
Many of the products that are among the most common Christmas presents also experienced an increase in price, as Eva Sadovská once again explains: “You have to pay more for drugstore items; we are seeing an increase of eight percent. Compared to the previous year, books are 5.4 percent more expensive and toys are 4.5 percent more expensive. But we also have to pay two to three percent more this year for coffee machines, cell phones and computers.”
In this context, financial experts advise caution and recommend not buying gifts on credit. Marek Ličák, Director of the Financial Stability Department at the Slovak National Bank (NBS), points out that the financial burden of interest payments can dull the initial moment of joy for a long time. Matej Dobiš, managing director of the Finančný Kompas portal, sees the biggest problem with Christmas in the fact that many people only realize too late what interest on loans actually means. Banks offer consumer loans with interest rates of 5 to 13%, while other financial service providers can even offer 25% interest. An alternative to this are account overdrafts or overdrafts, which are less complicated but usually have even higher interest rates.
Quelle: Správy RTVS
Kay Zeisberg, Photo: Kelvin Kay/Wikimedia
2023-12-01 12:29:03
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