Inflation continued to rise in Germany last month, climbing from 7.3 to 7.4 percent. The rate has thus reached its highest level since autumn 1981, when mineral oil prices also rose sharply as a result of the first Gulf War between Iraq and Iran.
The extent to which an individual household is affected by inflation always depends on how much money it spends on which goods. For example, if you don’t have a car, you won’t spend money on fuel and vehicle maintenance – but these are part of the consumer price index basket.
Personal inflation calculator from the Federal Statistical Office
The Federal Statistical Office has put a personal inflation calculator online in which consumers can enter their individual expenses for rent, travel expenses and groceries, for example. This allows you to calculate how much your personal inflation rate differs from the official one.
Because the inflation rate is an average value that does not necessarily do justice to individual consumers and their shopping behavior. There are also psychological factors: According to statisticians, there are prices that consumers perceive particularly strongly. These are mainly goods that you buy regularly, such as groceries. The “perceived” inflation can therefore deviate from the official rate.