The Jeppsson family lives in a 1970s villa with direct-acting electricity in Huddinge outside Stockholm. They try to keep costs down, among other things by not keeping the house so warm.
– We get to get dressed instead of raising the temperature, says Karin Lindgren Jeppsson.
She hopes that the family will not have to take away their savings due to the rising prices of electricity and the record high inflation.
Historically tough time
It is only at the end of the year that inflation will start to turn downwards. This is the opinion of several economists that SVT spoke to. In combination with high electricity prices and rising interest rates, it paves the way for a historically tough time.
– I have worked in the financial industry for over 35 years and have never seen anything like this. Pretty much anything that can go against households is going against households now. These are tough times, says Arturo Arques, private economist at Swedbank.
Swedbank has calculated how the high prices affect different households. For single people with children in a rented apartment, the costs increase by an average of SEK 740 every month, for retired couples in a rented apartment it will be SEK 1,000 more expensive and for a family with two children in a house, the costs will be SEK 5,500 higher every month, compared to the beginning of the year .
Time to make a budget
But it is the households with the lowest incomes that will have it the hardest this autumn, predicts Swedbank.
– Single people with children, guarantee pensioners, students, the unemployed and those living on sickness and activity allowance. People who were already living with very small margins, they are hit very hard now, says Arques.
Länsförsäkringar also believes that inflation will only start to turn downwards at the turn of the year.
-Households should expect higher prices for quite some time to come, says Emma Persson, private economist at Länsförsäkringar.
Today’s inflation figures are the highest in 30 years, but it is only when the Riksbank’s expected interest rate increases in the autumn begin to take effect that inflation is expected to slow down.
– We now see that inflation is digging deep holes in households’ wallets. If there are going to be Christmas presents for the children, then it is important to make a budget already now. Avoid all unnecessary expenses and plan all major expenses carefully, says Arturo Arques.
See in the clip above how the Jeppsson family tries to cope with the increasing costs through smarter choices in everyday life.