How Belarusian Lives On Plant Worker Salary Of $170 Per Month

The story of a family where the father was recently engaged in a successful business.

Myfin.by in the cycle “Belarusians and the Crisis” talked about the personal budget of a man who really didn’t want to be recognized in order to avoid envy. He had enough not only to live, but also to collect antique rings, spoons, etc. Our today's hero also does not want to be recognized, only hides not wealth, but is ashamed of poverty. Although his poverty comes not from laziness and vices, but, as he himself puts it, “is the result of an unsuccessful collision with the state”.

Let's call our hero Uladzimir, and his wife Iryna. The family has two children (their names are not important now), the youngest is under 3 years old. Uladzimir is already over 30, Iryna is about 30.

Several years ago, Uladzimir was an entrepreneur, was engaged in retail trade and felt optimism about the future.

- There were several months when I even calculated in how many years I would become a millionaire. I didn’t believe it would happen, but I calculated anyway. It was only upsetting that a competitor with a large store was ahead of me in any case.

Then it got worse,the trade volumes fell.

- People actually began to earn less, while hypermarkets and trading networks, on the contrary, grew. And in the same period, the tax authorities literally flew off the handle. I worked as honestly as possible. I paid taxes, did not refuse subscriptions, and had a row only with individual clients.

But after 3 years, a check came to Uladzimir. Not feeling any trouble, he presented “two trunks of documents” and two weeks later learned that a significant part of his turnover had been carried out with violations.

- Incoming documents were declared invalid for almost 3 years. Not all of them, but a significant part.

In such a situation, the tax is not levied on the trade margin, as was the case with Uladzimir, but on the entire amount of sales.

- I started arguing, complaining. They began to press even harder. They seized the cash register equipment and the computer. Found draft accounting on the computer. Summarized it and added to the actual accounting. In court, we have argued that this is wrong. The answer was: “Here is the signature that the information was entered into the computer by your seller”. The court ruled out compensation for the illegal turnover. In fact, the same amount (money-commodity-money) was counted several times.

By the way, Uladzimir considers himself a harsh person, intemperate in words. At the administrative commission (there were many of them in various cases) he once said: “It seems you are pressing me too hard, although this is not a political matter”. Received a maximum fine.

To complete the picture, let us add that the family managed to build an apartment on preferential terms (two children, at the actual 5%). Payments make about 445 rubles per month. Uladzimir says that “this is not such a concessional loan as before, there is no devaluation, the amount is not falling”.

The result is that the business actually went bankrupt. The goods have been confiscated. Uladzimir was ordered to pay more. But he refused to pay it, left the business, and got a job at the plant. The trials, however, continued, and the amount of the penalty increased further.

Uladzimir does not want to pay the state, referring to the lack of money and property. The bailiffs agreed with this, and foreclosed on his salary.

Income

Now Iryna is on parental leave, receiving an allowance of 540.48 rubles. She sometimes works part-time, but not regularly, if you take an average month, then about 150 rubles will come out.

Uladzimir works at a state-owned enterprise and earns about 435 rubles. Do not be surprised, our hero is not a Minsker, he lives in a not very wealthy province, where 600 rubles is considered normal salary, and 800 rubles - excellent. However, Uladzimir receives only 75% of his salary. The rest is deducted by the court.

Uladzimir has no other job. There are, however, occasional part-time jobs, but if you count them on an average monthly basis, then it turns out they bring about 200 rubles. It would be possible to earn money in business with former colleagues, but he managed to quarrel with very many of the local government bodies. Therefore, he says: “I do not want to create problems for people”.

Uladzimir's mom gives the family 150 rubles every month from her pension. They try to refuse every month, but in the end they take.

The family had a car, but they sold it at the first alarm. Although it was not registered for Uladzimir. But now the family has a stash in case the mobile phone finally breaks down, new shoes are urgently needed, etc.

Expenses

The family does not keep track of expenses. But we were able to figure out something with rounding and counting down, on the principle of “what is left”.

445 BYN go to repay the housing loan,

170 BYN go to pay for utilities, Beltelecom, and mobile communications.

They practically do not buy clothes for themselves: the wife is still at home, and there are supplies from her good years.

clothes, shoes and everything else for children - about 150 rubles per month.

for food - 400 rubles per month.

for various manufactured goods, household chemicals, etc. - 100 rubles.

Other expenses go to what remains.

Balance of income and expenses

The budget is converging. But not because our heroes earn for all their needs. It’s because there is no more money. However, they do not get into the last stash to cover current expenses.

The gloomy perspectives

The financial prospects for this family look rather bleak. Uladzimir does not risk looking for another job yet. Because it is not very easy to get employed with pending administrative penalty, especially in a small town. The family also does not dare to move to another city, since here they have a new apartment, parents, everything is familiar. They cannot go abroad (as many write now) until the penalty is fully settled. They will have to pay for another year. Most likely, until that time, they will remain in crisis.