Energy and food in particular have become significantly more expensive. Inflation averaged 6.9 percent last year. Bei ntv.de betray regularly people from all salary brackets what that means for their everyday life – what they earn, what they spend how much money on and what is left over at the end of the month. Today:
Surname: Christopher
Age: 42 years
Residence: rural Rhineland-Palatinate
Education: Car mechanic
Recent Activity: Production workers in lightweight construction, including for aerospace, in shift work in Luxembourg
Working hours per week: 40 hours
Monthly gross salary: around 3200 euros
Holiday and/or Christmas bonus: a total of approx. 400 net per year
Marital status: Married, four children in total – my wife and our youngest, 14-year-old son live in the household; my daughter from a previous relationship lives with her mother, my wife’s two older children are now away from home.
Household net income per month: 4800 euros including the wages of my wife, who works as a branch manager of a toy shop, and child benefit for our youngest son – in Luxembourg there are significantly less taxes than in Germany, from the gross wage I have significantly more net.
Monthly expenses for our house, that we bought in 2016: 1250 euros for credit and interest plus 110 euros for water, garbage, property tax and chimney sweep – 200 square meters in an old building, at first there were five of us living here.
Monthly heating costs: Last converted 130 euros for the oil central heating plus 75 euros for two wood-burning fireplaces, with which we save oil – per season we use about 1300 liters of oil and six cubic meters of firewood.
How much these have increased during the energy crisis: Overall, our heating costs have more than doubled – the price of oil rose from almost 42 cents in August 2020 to 1.10 euros per liter when we last bought it, the price of wood from 80 to 150 euros per cubic meter today.
Monthly electricity costs: About 170 euros, since we generate hot water via a continuous-flow heater – thanks to a balcony power plant that we bought a year ago, we were able to reduce our consumption by around 600 kilowatt hours a year and are currently saving around 200 euros a year.
How much our electricity costs have increased during the energy crisis: From 24 cents per kilowatt hour in 2020 to 31 cents today – with our previous consumption with five people, the costs would have increased by around 33 euros a month. However, since two children moved out during the energy crisis, the increase is not significant.
Additional fixed costs per month:
- 320 euros in installments for a car plus a total of 100 euros for the use of our two cars (TÜV, inspection, wearing parts) – we depend on two cars because I commute and my wife needs the car for work
- Filling up 450 euros
- Internet, landline and cell phones for the three of us around 130 euros (incl. cell phones plus cell phone insurance)
- Broadcast fee 18 euros
- Streaming 15 euros
- Insurance for a total of 175 euros for motor vehicles, buildings, household goods and glass, as well as legal protection
- Animal husbandry costs for three cats 60 euros
- 50 euros in installments for expenses after moving in
- 20 euro solarium for my wife
Additional expenses for children: 350 euros maintenance for my daughter, 50 euros pocket money for our 14-year-old plus 49 euros for his Germany ticket so that he can drive into town and to friends himself, 30 euros for a sports club
The bottom line is disposable household income for groceries, hygiene, leisure, clothing, vacation etc.: approx. 1250 euros
How much more we spend on groceries today than a year ago: 150 euros more for the three of us, around 550 euros in total
What we spend the most money on: Refueling, clothing and leisure activities for our son such as cinema, swimming pool, excursions but also hygiene items
Special expenses: Since we live in an old building and don’t have large sums of money to hand for renovations at once, we actually constantly renovate room by room as money allows – for the equivalent of around 100 euros per month, as a craftsman I do almost everything myself.
How much we spend on vacation: We rarely afford to take a vacation, once in the last six years – we prefer to invest our money in house renovations. Last year we went to Djerba for 4000 euros for two adults and two children. Due to the inflation, it will certainly not be possible to go on vacation again in the next few years, meanwhile traveling is even more expensive.
The details of these most important incomes and expenses are based on self-disclosures and do not claim to be complete.
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Where are we already saving due to high inflation: When it comes to electricity: We only switch on electrical appliances such as the washing machine when the balcony power plant is running at full capacity and we have overproduction because we have no storage. When it comes to groceries, we have been paying attention to offers and promotions for a long time. Last winter we also heated all the rooms a little less so that we didn’t have to buy more oil – sweaters were popular then. In addition, we try not to drive unnecessarily and combine journeys with each other as much as possible – I use a carpool to get to work.
How much is left at the end of the month: On average around 200 euros, which we put aside for the house, repairs and holidays.
Wishes to politicians: The heating law is actually causing us the most concern at the moment, since our oil heating system is from 1991, so it won’t work forever. Experts advised us not to insulate our old building from the outside because that would be uneconomical. For a large photovoltaic system that could support part of the electricity costs of a heat pump, the roof would have to be re-roofed, for which we do not have enough money on hand. And even if we did, it would not be technically or financially possible to rip out all the floors for underfloor heating. I’m worried about how I’m going to heat in the future. Even if I am allowed to keep the oil heater, at some point it will probably be difficult to buy a new one if it breaks.
Furthermore, politicians should work more closely with the Federal Cartel Office. Far too many companies fill their pockets where it is not justified: back then with the corona tests, then with wood or petrol. I’m just reminding you of the fuel price brake, when shortly before the companies increased their prices so much that the price remained almost the same despite the brake.
All in all, we feel completely let down by politics. The ladies and gentlemen don’t have to worry about such problems, they have enough money in the house.