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High petrol prices: Comparing helps here too
Photo: Hannes P. Albert / dpa
Three months ago, I predicted here that inflation could rise to 8 percent this spring because of high energy prices.
That didn't happen in March.
In May the time had come – at least in North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Saxony.
In Hesse, inflation was as high as 8.4 percent.
The national average was 7.9 percent.
Mainly because of the rising energy prices, but not only.
It is interesting how this inflation is made up for each person personally.
If you look closely, there are also a few good options for what you can do about your personal inflation.
Here are the eight most important points.
1. If your personal inflation is an energy inflation, the classic tools to combat this inflation apply.
Driving less and more fuel-efficiently.
Driving more slowly and with foresight can reduce fuel consumption by a quarter.
This also benefits the environment and health.
A current study puts the social costs of air pollution at 1,500 euros a year for a small car like the Opel Corsa.
In addition, there are 1200 euros per year for maintaining the car infrastructure.
These costs are not borne directly by the driver.
Use the tank app to find the inexpensive gas station along the way.
On Monday morning, the fuel prices for E10 in Berlin differed by 18 cents between the most expensive and the cheapest gas station.
Even with the newly introduced tank discount, the price difference was still 12 cents on Wednesday morning – and the E10 was not 35 cents cheaper, but only 27 cents on average.
The corporations are obviously pocketing part of the tank discount, and the government is now called upon to do so.
Incidentally, the best time to refuel is around 7 p.m. in the evening.
Try the 9-euro ticket for local public transport for work: 9 euros a month, you don't even get five liters of fuel for that.
And it's significantly cheaper than a ticket for illegal parking.
If you already have a typical monthly ticket for bus and train, you can quickly save 75 euros a month in Berlin, for example, or more than 90 euros in Cologne.
The 9-euro ticket and all monthly tickets are also valid for regional trains.
They drive from Lübeck to Stettin, from Wismar to Cottbus, from Düsseldorf to Kassel or from Hof to Munich.
2. Improve heating at home.
Curtains and furniture away from the radiators before the coming winter.
Finally install the new thermostats and also let the energy experts from the consumer advice center take a look.
Seriously consider replacing the heating system.
Heating oil is currently twice as expensive as it was a year ago and is a crazy driver of inflation for many households.
And the installation of a new heat pump or wood pellet heating system for the old oil heating system is currently supported by the state with 45 percent for removal and installation.
3. Also address power consumption and electricity costs.
24 tips for saving energy really help.
The washing machine costs not primarily because it spins, but because it heats the water for washing.
For poor households, Caritas offers a free electricity check at home.
The fact that the surcharge for renewable energies will no longer be included in the electricity price from July brings relief.
This automatically lowers the electricity price for everyone by 4.4 cents per kilowatt hour.
Of course, this help from the federal government is of little use if municipal electricity companies such as RheinEnergie from Cologne increase the electricity price anyway.
The logic of the Cologne: actually, the electricity price for basic supply customers of RheinEnergie should have risen by almost 7 cents to over 35 cents in the summer, according to the press spokesman on Thursday.
Rheinenergie deducts the missing EEG surcharge of 4.4 cents from this - and therefore increases the bottom line by 2.4 cents to 31 cents from August.
4. For high-earning city dwellers without a car, inflation is often mainly gastronomy inflation
: In fact, restaurant prices in Germany have increased twice as much on average since 2015 as net cold rents in the national average.
However, even before the current crisis.
What can you do?
Sit out at the Italian of your choice.
That brings at least 50 euros for a couple.
You can also skip the delivery from Lieferando or Wolt.
5. For many poorer, car-less urban households, inflation is largely food inflation.
Food prices have increased by 11 percent in the past twelve months.
This irks ordinary households, who spend about 10 percent of their monthly budget on groceries.
This is also reported by the Federal Statistical Office.
In Hartz IV households, groceries make up 35 percent of the available 449 euros.
So this is where the 11 percent food inflation hits hard.
Changing your eating habits helps a bit.
Meat prices have risen in particular.
Putin's war in Ukraine also has extra effects on sunflower oil, which is more than 80 percent more expensive.
Or with butter, which has become 30 percent more expensive.
If you work, they get the energy money from the state.
Those who receive housing benefit also receive energy assistance.
Have you already applied for housing benefit?
Up to two thirds of all people who would be entitled to housing benefit do not apply at all.
On average, recipients of housing benefit receive a little more than 200 euros a month.
Now there is a one-off surcharge for heating: For a family of four, that's 490 euros.
Take the money and use it to subsidize your household budget.
And if there's anything left over, put it in an overnight deposit account.
The next ancillary cost payment will definitely come.
6. Holiday Inflation:
Flying hasn't gotten drastically more expensive yet.
In Europe, it costs an average of 16 percent more than in 2019, for long-distance flights it is around 11 percent, estimates the flight search engine Swoodoo.
Many airlines secure a certain amount of kerosene at a fixed price in advance, so that some airlines are not yet fully aware of the higher fuel costs.
At some point, however, airlines will have to buy new kerosene – and raise prices.
In the medium term, the tickets will probably be significantly more expensive.
However, the holiday inflation for rental cars is quite different.
Vacationers report that rental car prices in Spain, Italy and Ireland have tripled.
The best way to keep costs under control is to book as early as possible, ie months in advance.
Maybe it's even in a country like Turkey, where rental car prices have not yet increased rapidly.
Otherwise, the only thing that helps is to shorten the rental period or, in some large cities, to use car sharing.
Air travel with a country house and rental car - the ultimate Corona model - is financially less popular as a holiday concept.
Accommodation from which you can use public transport is cheaper.
Perhaps you can take the train on your planned round trip in an environmentally friendly way?
Solo travelers in particular should take a look at the Interrail tickets.
Air travel with a country house and rental car - the ultimate Corona model - is financially less popular as a holiday concept.
Accommodation from which you can use public transport is cheaper.
Perhaps you can take the train on your planned round trip in an environmentally friendly way?
Solo travelers in particular should take a look at the Interrail tickets.
Air travel with a country house and rental car - the ultimate Corona model - is financially less popular as a holiday concept.
Accommodation from which you can use public transport is cheaper.
Perhaps you can take the train on your planned round trip in an environmentally friendly way?
Solo travelers in particular should take a look at the Interrail tickets.
7. Credit Inflation:
You bought your apartment ten years ago so you'll never have to moan about landlords or rising rents ever again.
Now comes the regular rescheduling of your construction loan.
And instead of the rate cut they've been looking forward to for years, there's a risk of a rate hike.
Because they have not repaid so much in the past ten years, there may even be an increase in the monthly installments.
If your debt restructuring is only due in the next 18 months, take care of a so-called forward loan now, with which you can secure the current interest rate level.
In this way, you can arm yourself against further increases in interest rates and keep future house payments in check.
8. Auto-inflation:
That your car has to break down right now.
In fact, used car prices have risen significantly over the past twelve months - mainly because fewer new cars were sold and the used market has therefore shrunk.
If possible, have the beloved box repaired again and drive your used vehicle for another year.
Or just see if you really need to own a car in the future.
The car companies lament about supply chain problems and missing parts.
Financially, however, the customer's problem didn't bother her very much, and her profits even exploded this spring.
Due to the shortage of parts in the chips, Mercedes, BMW and Audi mainly built the large models – expensive boxes that bring in more profit.
So, these were a few options that you have in your own hands.
If you only use a few, you can at least partially compensate for inflation.
The retail association is already complaining that store sales fell by five percent in April.
It doesn't matter, saving helps against inflation.
Comparison is your weapon.
