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Personal Inflation Rate Calculator

Calculate your own inflation rate from what you spend on housing, food, transport, utilities, health, education and leisure and how much each price rose — and compare it with official inflation and your raise.

Housing (rent or mortgage): monthly spending

Housing: price change in the year

Food and groceries: monthly spending

Food: price change

Transport and fuel: monthly spending

Transport: price change

Utilities (power, water, gas, internet): monthly spending

Utilities: price change

Health: monthly spending

Health: price change

Education and childcare: monthly spending

Education: price change

Leisure, clothing and other: monthly spending

Leisure and other: price change

Official inflation rate (CPI)

Your income growth (raise)

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How it works

Weight of each category = its spending ÷ total spending · personal inflation = Σ weight × price change · real income change = (1 + raise) ÷ (1 + personal inflation) − 1

Official inflation (the consumer price index) averages the spending pattern of a typical household, but nobody spends exactly like the average. A renter in a city with fast-rising rents, a driver hit by fuel prices or a family paying school fees can face a much higher rate. Weighting each category’s price change by your own spending gives your personal inflation rate — the raise you need just to stand still. Statistics offices in the UK, Spain and elsewhere publish personal inflation tools on the same principle; take price changes from your own bills or from your country’s CPI sub-indices.

Worked example

A household spends 3,000 a month: 1,200 on housing (+5%), 600 on food (+6%), 300 on transport (+3%), 200 on utilities (+8%), 150 on health (+4%), 100 on education (+5%) and 450 on leisure and other (+2%). The same basket now costs 141 more a month, so personal inflation is 141 ÷ 3,000 = 4.70% — 1.70 points above the 3% official rate. A 4% raise is a real income change of −0.67%.

Sources: Wikipedia — Consumer price index

Frequently asked questions

Why is my inflation different from the official rate?

Because your spending weights differ from the average household’s. If the categories you spend most on rose faster, your inflation is higher.

Where do I get the price change for each category?

Compare this year’s bills and receipts with last year’s, or use your national statistics office’s CPI by category (housing, food, transport…).

What does the “contribution” column mean?

How many percentage points each category adds to your personal inflation: weight × price change. They add up to the total.

Did my income really grow?

Only if your raise beat your personal inflation. The real change in income shows the gain or loss in purchasing power.

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Inflation-Adjusted Salary Calculator

See what your salary must become to keep the same purchasing power over time — and what a flat salary is really worth after years of inflation.

Salary Increase to Keep Up With Inflation Calculator

Find the raise you need just to keep pace with inflation, then check whether the raise you were offered is a real gain or a hidden pay cut.

Estimates for education and planning, not financial advice. Lenders’ contracts, fees, day-count and rounding rules differ — check the official cost disclosure (APR / TAE / CAT) in your loan or card agreement before deciding.