The ‘tax of the poor’: when electricity, gasoline and shopping cost 150 euros more per month

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“Everything is going up, except our salaries.” It is the reflection to which it arrives Angel Merino while you put gas in your car in a town in the West from Madrid. This citizen explains that, for week, you can spend a few 90 euros “while a time ago I filled the tank with 60 and made similar journeys ”. “In my case, I notice a lot the rise in the prices of fresh products, especially fruit and vegetables. Not to mention the electricity bill, which we all know does not stop growing ”, he tells EL ESPAÑOL Jana Yilma, a young woman from 28 years that he carried with him a shopping cart that I had just filled.

“I live with my Grandma and a year ago we could spend a few 50 euros per week to buy and now we spend about 70. And, for electricity, a few months ago we paid about 60 euros per month and now we reach 130 euros”, Adds the young woman, with a certain resignation. In other words, the average weekly expenditure on the shopping basket and on the electricity consumed by this small family has risen from the 65 until the 102,50 euros. Or what is the same, Jana and his grandmother spent a year ago 260 euros per month in basic goods and can now reach the 400 euros for the same. 150 euros Of diference.

It is just one example of the havoc that the inflation – known as the poor man’s tax– at families from Spain. That is, prices go up, but the price does not increase with it. purchasing power of people. And is that the Consumer price index (IPC) uploaded a 0,8% on September relative to the previous month and shot his interannual rate until the 4%, seven tenths above that of August and the highest in 13 years. The main cause: the rising cost of electricity, according to advanced data published this Wednesday for him Statistics National Institute (INE), this newspaper has reported. Or, in other words, the shopping cart is a 4% more expensive what does one year.

For Maria Luis Gutierrez (62 years) “Electricity and water are very expensive” and the expense for your pocket becomes unbearable. “Now I spend 50 euros to make a basic purchase for me ”, he explains at the doors of the usual supermarket he goes to, located in the Manuel Becerra square, on Madrid. Despite this, neither Jana ni Maria Luisa have their own vehicle, which means that they have not felt the increase in fuel prices, something that other citizens consulted by this newspaper have noticed.

Basic goods go up

Near a supermarket in the Alcala street, this newspaper intercepts a married couple, Jose Luis e Isabel, who are “in a great hurry”, but finally stop, shopping bags in hand, to talk for a few minutes. “I notice that the electricity bill it has been possible to increase around a 40% and, also, that we pay close to a 15% more for our usual shopping basket ”, he says Jose Luis, who also acknowledges that he is a regular car user.

“A year and a half ago I filled my tank with 60 euros, now I have to pay 80”, He concludes. Isabel, his wife, also notes the change “especially in the electricity bill”. “The only thing that has maintained its price compared to last year, as far as possible, is the clothing”, Says this citizen before continuing on her way.

But Jose Luis He has not been the only driver who has noticed the evident rise in the price of fuel. Something normal, because the liter of gasoline on Spain It stands at 1,437 euros during this week, according to the data published this Thursday for him Oil Bulletin of the European Union. This assumes that you have uploaded a 0,04% its price compared to last week – and they are already four weeks of uploads. You did not see this price from July 2014. The diesel, meanwhile, costs on average 1,291 euros, a 0,9% more than a week ago. It is the highest data since October 2014.

“I usually throw 25 euros every time I put gas and a year ago it was equivalent to 20 or 23 liters, but look now … 16.79 liters“, bill Elena while pointing out the exact moment the dispenser counter stops. After that, he drains the last drops of diesel and leaves the hose before going to pay. Isabel prieto, minutes before, he made a similar reflection: “Before I filled my tank with 45 euros, now I have to pay some 53 euros. Eight euros difference in just one year ”.

“Save something”

As has been pointed out, one of the factors that have influenced the highest year-on-year rise in the IPC on 13 years have been the electricity bills upward. This same Friday, In fact, the average daily price of electricity in the wholesale market will break a new historical record by breaking the barrier of 200 euros by megawatt hour (MWh). Specifically, it will shoot up to 216,01 euros, according to the data of the designated electricity market operator.

But Rosario Gomez has been well informed by her child, which ensures the sustainability of the energy expenditure of his mother’s house. “As my son told me, to save something you have to put the washing machine at night or on weekends, because the electricity is very expensive,” says the woman. In fact, this retiree had just come out of a small purchase at a Carrefour and, as he has told, what has surprised him the most are the high prices “of fruit and vegetables.”

A similar technique is used Maria Jose on Asturias, which has verified that using its electronic devices in the off-peak hours of the price of megawatt hour you can save “up to 70 euros on the electricity bill”. At first, he did it as an experiment, but now, he has confirmed its veracity.

Back to Madrid, two workers of To field smoke a cigar on a well-deserved break when this newspaper asks them what they think of the rise in half price from shopping basket. “We still do not have data on this increase. We are analyzing them, but what we can say is that, for one yearWe noticed that people spend less, their purchases are smaller and they buy almost daily ”, they explain.

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