One fifth of Czechs struggle to make ends meet at the end of month

The vast majority of Czechs have experienced financial distress, suggest recent surveys for Czech financial institutions, published by the website Aktualne.cz. According to the surveys, a fifth of Czechs have trouble making ends meet at the end of the month. This concerns not just people with lower education, but also residents of larger cities.

One of the surveys, conducted by NMS Market Research in August for Raiffeisenbank among 1,000 respondents, shows that women and people under 35 with lower education and with an income of up to CZK 40,000, as well as Czechs living in towns with 20,000 to 99,000 inhabitants, are the most likely to lack money.

More than a third of those who are short of funds at the end of the month lack up to CZK 2,000. A fifth are short of CZK 2,000 to 4,000 and 17 percent would need an extra CZK 4,000 to cover their expenses. The survey also suggests that one in ten Czechs, mainly women and people with lower education, makes "just enough" to make ends meet.

"Every fifth Czech struggles with a lack of money before payday. With rising inflation and record prices for many goods and services, these people may find themselves in an even more difficult situation," Petra Kopecká, the bank's spokesperson, told Aktuálně.cz.

Another fresh survey from Ipsos conducted for Provident Financial shows that three quarters of Czechs have found themselves in one or more difficult financial situations during their lifetime, such as being unable to find a job, not having enough money in the bank, or facing a property seizure.

"Despite government assistance, the pandemic has negatively affected the financial situation of many households. In addition, it has been difficult for many of them to create a financial reserve, so with inflation on the rise, their situation can be expected to worsen," says Luboš Kratochvíl, an analyst at Provident.

The survey also suggests that many Czechs, especially young Czechs, are worried about running into financial problems in the coming year.

In September, inflation rose to 4.9 per cent, which was an increase by 0.8 percentage points on the August figure, and the highest since 2008. The negative development was mainly driven by housing and transport prices.