@ Bubu:

A pensioner living alone, who tells you he/she gets a €300 energy bill every two months, is either lying or wasting a lot of water/electricity.

Kif nixba’ nisma’ argumenti stupidi bhal tieghek. Bhal dak li qallu li meta nixtru z-zejt minn barra, jew prodotti ohra, se jtuna dicount specjali ghax il-livell tal-pagi taghna huwa izghar minn tal-pajjizi l-iktar sinjuri.

The price level of oil supply is largely set on supply output decided by OPEC from time to time and they really don’t give a toss about your salary level in Malta.

Enemalta has to pay the price requested, with some leeway gained with hedging, exchange rates etc.

The global purchase price then has to be reflected into our bills. I’m sure we get billed for some inefficiencies, but I’m equally certain that these amount to a small percentage of the bills we receive considering the cost of oil.

Try reducing your water and electricity usage (the internet is teeming with simple tips) – you’ll be surprised how much money you can save over a year.

DCG you’re quite out of touch with realities on the ground.

[Daphne – Au contraire. I am so much in touch that I’m a super-cynical realist.]

And the other half of their time at tombla, in desperation.

I agree with you, toyger – it doesn’t take the IQ of an Einstein to put away the money for the monthly bills.

Which is why I have such a hard time getting my head around the fact that so many families fail to do it out of sheer stupidity.

Aw hell. Perhaps I’m too much the idealist.

But consider the lower end of the financial scale. Let’s say a pensioner who lives alone and gets some €700 a month state pension, or even a single person who gets the minimum wage which amounts to basically the same amount.

Considering a very conservative figure for living expenses of say €4-500 a month, getting a €300 electricity bill every two months eats considerably into your disposable income and leaves no space to maneuver when unexpected expenses invariably crop up.

A large percentage of households live under these or possibly marginally better conditions so I’m really not surprised with the statistics.

Dinn Joseph hadimilek?

You are perfectly right.

The general feeling is just this.

Igri jitla Joseph (not Joey) biex jaqtalna il-kont tad-dawl u l-ilma.

The beginning of the road to Athens.

Malta Government Bonds with a 7.5% coupon a la Fredu Sant.

Worried that the uptake would not be sufficient this is what he did.

Completely crazy interest rates which the country is still burdened with. Where was Homo Sapiens financial guru Lino Spiteri then ?

When we reach Athens we can always blame dik in-nittiena Merkel.

Kollox tort taghha, ta’ GonziPN u tal-hofra.