How inflation affects us

Inflation. We've heard a lot about it and about everyone is affected by it - from Philippines to Argentina and everywhere in between. Firstly, I want to say that this post is in no way intended as a complaint, and that I want to acknowledge that we've been blessed in so many ways - more than so many other people. I just think it's interesting to show how different people can be affected differently by crises like these. 

One of the biggest privileges anyone can have when it comes to finances is defenitely to have your own house. And I don't mean still have to pay a large amount each month despite the housd being still "yours". Our house, even though it's a relatively small one, is ours and not paid anything for. So that's our biggest security in leaner times. Even if you have barely anything to eat (not that it's ever been like that for us, but let's think of a hypothetical scenario when things get worse), at least you don't have to worry about a roof over your head. That's a very reassuring thought for me, especially since we did experience poverty with a lot of insecurities of being able to pay all the bills monthly and there's certainly still trauma that I need to overcome. Our house isn't perfect, by far, but it is our house. We'd like to renovate the bathroom and kitchen one day, but for now we're very content with our small dwelling. We feel very fortunate to have this house, especially during times with less income. 

Food: this is probably the area in which we're affected the most. Prices are going through the roof it seems. There are some products that we're hardly able to afford. Yes, most of these products aren't strictly necessary, so it's still a bit less of a problem. It would have been problematic if this would apply for the basic staples. Bread, pasta etc. fortunately are very affordable, as they're being subsidized by the government. I sincerely hope that will never change, as it would be problematic for the poorest people if even bread prices would go up.              Some of the foods we buy less (or rarely buy) are olive oil, meat, rice, eggs, bananas, and even regular cooking oil, white flour, among other foods. Most of them aren't particularly known as pricey foods for most people, yet some of them have quadrupled or have even multiplied more times than that so they've defenitely become expensive. Most of these foods are even more expensive than they are back home in the Netherlands. But the thing is, our salary isn't nearly as high... If you have 1/3 of a western European salary, it's considered a middle class income. Our income is not the same each month, there's months when we barely scrape by, and there are months when we can even save money. So even if we don't spend everything that comes in, I still certainly don't want to spend everything we earn and challenge myself to make do with alternatives or just without. 

The biggest issue when it comes to food isn't just the price- it's the lack of availability. There are lots of shortages, especially when it comes to staples. Milk, rice, semolina, tea, sugar, flour etc. There's some reasons behind this, which I don't want to elaborate on as it's a very complex set of reasons, some of which have to do with politics, and I rather don't discuss that here. But defenitely the worldwide inflation has contributed tremendously to this situation. A few years ago there were short periods of shortages, like few weeks usually. Now some products have been out of stock for more than a year. And they alternate; when there's semolina there's milk shortages, and the other way around. This all started around the covid period and then got worse after the Ukrainian war. At the beginning it was more like "annoying" but now people are getting increasingly worried. This really shows us how vital a good stockpile is. Yes, you'll eventually run out, but at least you don't have to worry for a certain period. It doesn't take an unstable political situation, war, or floods to have empty shelves. It can also be less serious issues. If the truckers are striking, empty shelves are very likely too. It really doesn't have to take long to find empty supermarket shelves. In my opinion, the supermarket should not be relied on as a "spare pantry" like many people do nowadays. This annoying/worrisome situation has taught us a lot, especially about preparedness. And also about being creative with what's available. Fortunately, there is enough food. It's just that some items at some times aren't available so you just make do without. No white flour; make whole wheat/sorghum/oatmeal cookies. No rice; just cook bulgur instead, etc. I also found oat milk a decent replacement for cow's milk, even though it lacks nutritional value, but when I bake er French toast or pancakes that doesn't really matter to me. I would love the situation to get back to normal again defenitely, but this taught us a lot. 

Utilities: this is our 2nd biggest thing in which we're affected. Not as much as with food though, but still, utilities are a big dent in our monthly costs at some times. I must say that we're fortunate to live in a country that doesn't get their gas from Russia. Not that I'd mind if they did, I'm not going into politics here, but just because that has caused troubles in many European countries. I heard stories from people I know in the Netherlands, the UK etc that are quite unbelievable, but are the harsh reality for some people. Things like not putting on the heater at all despite freezing cold weather, cold showers or having just one hot shower a week, not cooking to save gas but putting some convenience foods in the microwave instead. I feel sorry for everyone having to fo through things like these, it must be very hard to actually have to choose between heating and eating. Apart from the fact that we're not in that desperate of a situation, the weather here is usually such that a heater is a nice extra, not strictly necessary. I still don't want to go without heating if it's still possible to pay for that, but if that became impossible, I'm still happy that we're just chilly and not freezing to death. So that's the gas price. Electricity here is much more expensive than gas. Heating with electricity is nearly impossible, unless you're able to use free electricity (we have a relative whose partner works at the electricity/gas company, and they are allowed tu use as much electricity as possible without any costs!), or solar panels etc. We try to be very frugal with both gas and electricity, but with electricity in particular because of this. This is why we use the air conditioning minimal during the summer, which is one of the most guzzling appliances in our house. Still, with prices having gone up, our bills have too. You can only scrimp that much, and if you wanted to pay the same that you were paying two years ago, you'd need to use even less. But since we're not even using much already, that's nearly impossible. So higher utility bills it is, and we're very fortunate to be able to still pay them, even if that means we have to be more frugal in other areas. 

Petrol prices: they have quadrupled so needless to say, most people feel that, and so do we. Fortunately we don't need our car a lot so it's still manageable, but it is still quite an expensive bit from our budget. 

These are the main areas in which we're affected. I want to repeat that we're very privileged to be house owners which is a major factor in being able to manage the inflation a bit. But, after all, we still feel it. I will try to elaborate a bit more in a future post on how we still try to save as much as possible despite the increasing prices.