Electricity, heating, health insurance: What will be more expensive in 2022

Enlarge image

Tanker truck with heating oil: difference of up to 300 euros

Photo: Rolf Poss / IMAGO

With 22 tips you can significantly improve your own financial situation in 2022, I wrote last week.

At the same time, you should always defend yourself where there is a threat of deterioration.

And they threaten more often than desired.

Inflation increased significantly last year - the Federal Statistical Office estimates that it was 3.1 percent.

The most important additional costs in 2022 all have to do with energy.

Because crude oil is significantly more expensive than last year, the prices for fuel and heating oil are also significantly higher.

In the case of heating oil, prices rose dramatically from the turn of the year 2021 to the turn of the year 2022 from 50 to 80 cents per liter.

In terms of fuel, they rose from 1.23 euros for the liter E10 in December 2020 to 1.60 euros in December 2021.

There is little you can do about the increase as a German driver cannot force Opec to sell the oil cheaper.

You won't get rid of the CO₂ tax either.

That was already decided by the previous federal government.

And now the majority voted for more climate protection in autumn.

After eight cents (including VAT) in 2021, the levy in 2022 has risen again by 1.5 cents per liter of diesel or heating oil.

But of course you can also do a few things at short notice so that it doesn't become quite so expensive for you.

For example, you can change providers for

.

The price differs by ten cents per liter, depending on the dealer, or 300 euros for a 3000 liter tank.

Of course you save them.

Similar price differences can also be seen

for

I always write from 15 cents per liter depending on the time of day and the gas station in big cities.

But that often also applies to the countryside.

Last weekend, the price for a liter of E10 within a ten kilometer radius of my parents' house on the Lower Rhine was between 1.559 euros and 1.679 euros.

For a tank of 50 liters, the information from the tank app saved six euros.

In addition, there are always opportunities for fuel-efficient driving.

The test driver in the video of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation saves almost a quarter and needs the same amount of time to travel to Munich.

For weeks there has

also been trouble with

and

Gas traders and electricity companies are raising prices for three reasons:

• First, energy demand has risen again worldwide after the Corona slump;

• secondly, the European greenhouse gas certificates for lignite that has not yet been switched off make German electricity more expensive;

• and thirdly, many traders have made a huge mistake.

  In 2020, the prices for electricity and gas were so low in the short term that some people earned a golden nose on the short-term spot market.

For 2021 and 2022, some gas traders have continued to speculate on being able to secure further low prices with short-term contracts.

Perhaps they have also bet on a new lockdown in the wake of the corona pandemic.

Instead, they did not conclude any medium or long-term supply contracts that were more expensive but also guaranteed a certain price for a long time.

(The more serious providers have done that.) The fact that short-term prices can also rise sharply was forgotten.

Your short-term counter-strategy as a customer here: compare!

If your provider sends you a price increase, compare the working price mentioned in the increase with the cheapest working price from reputable suppliers that you can currently get.

Above all, include your local municipal utility.

You may not find a cheaper provider despite the increase. Then bite the bullet and accept the new price. In the basic service, prices have risen by an average of 18 percent since autumn, my colleagues at »Finanztip« determined for 40 large providers - although the prices in the basic service are actually sluggish.

If your provider increases prices by more than 50 percent, you can find a cheaper tariff. But do not conclude any contracts for 24 months. After all, when it comes to gas, the Russian state-owned company Gazprom is trying to prove how helpful more Russian pipelines can be after receiving the operating license for the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2. This is questionable in terms of climate policy, but if the gas price falls again for you, you will then get a cheaper contract.

You should also be careful with long-term contracts when it comes to electricity.

It is the declared goal of the new federal government to end the financing of the EEG surcharge through the electricity price in 2023.

The surcharge is currently 3.7 cents per kilowatt hour.

Price hikes earlier this year could be followed by a price cut.

You can find good and reputable electricity offers with the »Finanztip« calculator.

You can also save a lot in the long run

Those were the things that you can accomplish in the short term.

But you shouldn't be satisfied with that.

Those who take a longer-term approach to the matter can to a large extent disconnect themselves from electricity or gas prices - and possibly also from the classic gas station.

• A new heating system with a

  heat pump

  and

  solar thermal energy

  from the roof makes you less dependent on the capers of a gas market that has gone wild.

  The subsidy from the state quickly amounts to 10,000 euros.

• And because the high state subsidies for

  e-cars

  will continue, these are an interesting alternative.

  Up to a purchase price of 40,000 euros, the funding amounts to 9,000 euros.

  The cheapest electric car in Germany is then available for a good 10,000 euros.

  You can even earn money with an e-car - through the greenhouse gas reduction quota.

  At least 250 euros a year are in it;

  with it you can currently charge around 700 kilowatt hours of electricity and drive around 4,000 kilometers.

• The

  photovoltaic system

  on the roof, which generates electricity for 10 to 14 cents, also helps you in turbulent times like these, for example when the Dortmund Energy and Water Supply (DEW21) from new customers in the basic supply 66.5 cents or even the Frankfurt Mainova around 79.9 cents per kWh is charged. You can find a cheap craftsman via portals such as self-made energy or photovoltaic offer comparison. If you don't have a house of your own, you may have a balcony and can save at least part of the costs with a balcony solar system. Anyone can attach it themselves.

• Having your own electricity storage in the garage is pretty much worth it with the current electricity prices.

  Solar systems

  and

  storage systems

  are even more worthwhile when you are in the home office. The non-profit portal CO₂-Online has calculated 150 kilowatt hours more consumption per year through home office. That makes around 50 euros at the old prices, and often twice as much at the current moon prices for new customers.

If you have your own property, you have a clear advantage in the fight against high energy prices. For tenants with tight budgets, there is at least support from the state: Make sure you check whether you are eligible for housing benefit, because an energy surcharge has been paid for housing benefit as early as 2021. Possible further awards are to follow in 2022. The coalition agreement provides for “a short-term, one-off, increased heating cost subsidy to be paid.” This will often be necessary in order to cope with higher utility bills in the summer or autumn of 2022. By the way, you are entitled to housing benefit if your income is low and the rent is high. One million households in Germany are currently not exercising this right.

Given the anger over the price turbulence on the energy market and outrageous providers, we shouldn't forget that there are other cost drivers at this turn of the year. There would be the railway and also the

:

• Some of the health insurance members will have to dig much deeper into their pockets in 2022. Above all, the AOKs increased the additional contributions at the beginning of the year. That affects over 20 million policyholders. Nine of the eleven AOKs have increased, only AOK Plus and AOK Lower Saxony have remained stable in terms of contributions. The AOK Rheinland / Hamburg demands the greatest increase, half a percent more. 0.5 percent more contribution means for a part-time employee with 1000 euros gross, only around 2.50 euros more contribution per month or 30 euros per year. At 4,000 euros a month, this AOK already picks up 10 euros a month, 120 euros a year. The employer has to pay just as much. If you are happy with your cash register, you live with such increases. If not, this calculator will tell you how much premium you can save when switching.

And then there are a few smaller items that can also hurt if you are on a tight budget.

• The

  train

  struck again in December.

  The price for long-haul routes has increased by three percent.

  The Bahncards are also three percent more expensive.

  And be careful for all those who despise mobile phones: Buying train tickets from the conductors has not been possible since January 1st.

  You can do this online with your mobile phone or computer in the first few minutes after departure on the train, but no longer with the conductor.

  My advice.

  The free train app on the smartphone is really convenient.

• The

  postage

  increases.

  For postcards from 60 to 70 cents, for letters from 80 to 85 cents and also for large letters 5 cents more each.

  Registered mail even costs 15 cents more.

  But you have mastered e-mail and messenger services.

  A lot of business mail in particular can now be done electronically.

• Smoking

  is an additional burden

  under the vices .

  A pack of 20 cigarettes will cost around ten cents more in 2022, and another ten cents in the coming year.

  And water pipe tobacco should also be taxed higher.

  Take countermeasures - you already know.

  Smoking costs you ten years of life.

This year, energy costs will be the area in which it will be decided whether you can make ends meet with your household budget.

I will be with you.