Autumn is coming and punctually the sting is coming for families. Between bills, groceries, school, mortgages, petrol and restaurants, Italians are facing a drain of 1,600 euros per family .
The calculations were made by Assoutenti, which provides for increases of 190 euros for food, about 95 for school supplies, more than 100 for fuel . But the real sore point are mortgages, with over 1,100 euros more .
"We ask the government to immediately strengthen the wedge cut, expand the anti-inflation basket and intervene on excise duties, because even a cut of just 10 cents would lead, also considering VAT, to direct savings of over 6 euros in full", says the president of the association Furio Truzzi .
Over the counter, food products cost 10.1% more today than last year, a trend which, if confirmed in the coming months, denounces the consumers' association, would lead the expenditure for food and drink of a typical family "to rise by 190 euros» . And in September, schools reopen: stationery products mark an increase of around 9% on an annual basis. A family that has to buy all the equipment for the entire school year (backpack, diary, case, pens, pencils, notebooks,) thus finds itself paying about 50 euros more than in 2022. Then there is the increase in the price of books with increases between 4 and 12%, another 45 euros .
It will also cost more to travel by car: in the period September-December 2022 the price of petrol stood on average at 1.679 euros per liter against 1.947 euros today, according to Mase data. If the price lists at the pump were to remain at current levels, assuming two full meals a month per family, spending would rise by 107 euros in the last four months compared to 2022, warns Assoutenti.
As if that weren't enough, the bills alarm is on again : according to analysts, electricity risks going up between 7 and 10% in the next quarter (16 euros more per family), gas for the month of August at +2% .
It will also be more expensive to eat in restaurants and consume in bars , considering the increases in public places throughout Italy: in this sector, the association concludes, the increase in spending will be around +28 euros per family in 4 months .
Finally, mortgages : in the next meetings of the ECB, Assoutenti recalls, further increases in interest rates could be decided. Today, a variable-rate mortgage with an average amount of 125 thousand euros over 25 years (the most common category of loans for first home purchases in Italy) costs an average of 60% more than at the beginning of 2022, with the average monthly payment rising around 270 euros. Assuming a rate adjustment of 0.25% in all three ECB meetings, spending on monthly installments for the September-December period would be more expensive overall by around +1,170 euros compared to 2022 .
(Unioneonline/L)
