BRATISLAVA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 40 percent of Slovak households feel they are not living a decent life, with income and financial security playing a major role in how they assess their living standards, the News Agency of the Slovak Republic reported on Saturday.
The report cited a June survey conducted by the research company Focus for the Partners Foundation, which found that 39 percent of households said they were not living a decent life. Respondents associated a decent standard of living primarily with adequate housing, quality food, the ability to cover regular expenses and having savings for unexpected costs.
"The issue is not about affording a luxurious life. They assess whether they can manage their everyday expenses and look to the future without fear," said sociologist Martin Slosiarik with Focus.
According to the survey, Slovak households estimated that they would need an average monthly income of 2,720 euros (3156.18 U.S. dollars) to maintain a decent standard of living. Almost half of households, however, said that a monthly income of up to 2,200 euros (2552.80 dollars) would be sufficient.
Financial pressure on households has also increased. Some 87 percent of respondents said that government consolidation measures had affected their family budgets, while more than one-third reported that their financial situation had deteriorated over the past 12 months.
The survey also showed that Slovak households' financial reserves have fallen to a 10-year low. Almost one-quarter of households had no savings, while only 14 percent had reserves sufficient to cover at least six months.
