It's getting harder to make ends meet: 2022 inflation affects daily life - 7 charts that show how inflation affects you on a daily basis.

Get to a gas station. Diesel is 25% more expensive than a year ago. Enter the gas station to buy dinner: oil has risen 30.5%, meat 22%, Coca Cola 12%. Go home and open the mailbox: the electricity bill costs 72% more.

It's getting harder and harder to make ends meet, and it's not a sensation. It is inflation, which measures how much the price of products has increased on average. In 2021, the shopping basket is 3.1% more expensive than in 2020, according to the latest data from the INE.

Life costs more, but salaries barely move. In the last year, wages per agreement have risen by 1.5%, half as much as inflation. The pensions and salaries of civil servants are also lagging behind: they increased by 0.9% in 2021.

The salaries agreed in agreement have increased steadily in recent years: from 0.5% in 2014 to 2.2% in 2019. But then came the pandemic: activity paralyzed, companies began to suffer falls in turnover and that has been reflected in wages.

2022 inflation affects daily life

Meanwhile, the price of products has not stopped rising. It began to increase in January, but little: 0.5%. In February they were frozen, and in March inflationary escalation began.

By December, prices had already skyrocketed by 6.5% over 2020. That same month, wages increased by only 1.47 per cent.

It is true that part of that rise is due to inflation falling for almost all of 2020. But they were slight declines (between -0.3% and -0.8%) that are not enough to explain that in October, November and December 2021 inflation reached levels not seen in almost thirty years, since the early nineties.

In September prices rose by 4%, in October by 5.4%, in November by 5.5% and in December they reached 6.5% (two tenths less than originally planned).

If we compare the figure for December with the rise in salaries that month, of 1.47%, it turns out that in real terms wages not only do not rise but fall more than four points. It is the biggest drop in wages in the 21st century.

The 2022 inflation affects daily life comparison revealed

We have made a comparison with 7 graphs that explain how the price increase of some products already multiplies the salary increase.

The day to day has been getting more expensive since the beginning of the pandemic, and if the pocket notices it is because the products that increase the most in price are precisely basic goods that are consumed daily.

Electricity, oil, meat, gasoline... All these products have in common that they are consumed almost daily and that accumulate the highest prices in recent months.

The electricity bill, for example, not only costs more, but its price has been beating historic highs for months. In December it shot up 72% compared to 2020, fifty times more than wages.

Why does the price of food and energy rise more than other products? The explanation lies on two fronts: the rise in the price of oil and raw materials.

Volatility of food in 2022 inflation affects daily life

The higher volatility of food or energy prices is explained by their high vulnerability to external conditions (if there are frost or drought, or by agreements between OPEC countries).

When the great confinement ended in 2020, demand aroused, and it did so with an unusual force: travel resumed, shopping, consumption in general. But oil production has not increased at the same rate, and when there is little supply and high demand... the price skyrockets.

In addition, energy transition policies have become a double-edged sword, as they discourage investment in fossil fuels, making oil production even more expensive.

In December, with a salary increase of 1.5% it is necessary to face a 72% increase in the price of light, the cost of heating, a 46.8% more expensive, and a year-on-year increase of 23% in gasoline.

Travel is also among the sectors that are more expensive, due to their high dependence on the price of oil. The price of hotels has skyrocketed by 32% and transport by 11%. In addition, consuming in cafes and restaurants costs on average 3.1% more.

These increases occur in a year 2021 where the tourism and leisure sector are trying to return to normal, after a 2020 marked by movement restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A real problem for Spain, due to its high dependence on tourism.

Case food in relation to 2022 inflation affects daily life

In the case of food, more of the same happens. After the pandemic, companies wanted to buy more raw materials to produce and supply a skyrocketing demand. But there is not enough production of raw materials to meet the needs of companies. This is causing bottlenecks and increases in production costs, which are carried over to the price of products.

Oil is the most noticeable food product. In December its price skyrocketed by 30.5% year-on-year, twenty times more than the wages agreed by agreement.

But walking through the aisles of the supermarket also happens with many drinks. Buying soft drinks in December, for example, is 11.7% more expensive than in December 2020, and the price of fruit juices has increased by 6.3%.

Blonde beer, on the other hand, is one of the few drinks that are more affordable today: the salary increase in December is higher than that of the price of beer (0.7%), which makes it cheaper.

Car parks, tolls, mobile phones, computers, used cars, even wine...All these products are cheaper than a year ago. And not only that: if wages rise and these products fall in price, it means that they are even more affordable than before.

Mobile prices decrease in 2022 inflation affects daily life

For example, mobile prices dropped 5.1% in December, but wages rose 1.47% that month, resulting in a purchasing power gain of almost four points.

Betting on the purchase of any of these products, therefore, can be a good idea, since they are more affordable.

For the coming months, the evolution of inflation will depend to a large extent on energy prices, which have rebounded again in recent weeks and which in some respects respond to geopolitical issues beyond the control of governments.

The European Central Bank hopes that the end of the inflationary escalation will come this year, when supply problems are solved. The problem is that a few months ago he said it would be temporary, and for the moment he recognizes that it is taking longer than he expected.