Ordinary Germans face increasing challenges in times of high inflation: rising rents, rising food prices, exploding energy costs... The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukrainian war, which have not been completely gone, have paralyzed the German economy and pushed prices to continue to rise.
What is the current life of people? Can you still "live"?
More than 50 Germans from all over Germany described their income levels and living burdens, "We can afford it now, but how long can we survive?" ”
Berlin & Mayzen & Brandenburg
Retired elder Hans Nieme (75): "I used to be a professional beekeeper, worked as a self-employed person for a long time, and now retire with basic security, almost 1000 euros. I live for only 450 euros, I don't have to save money, but pay attention to specials. ”
Retired elderly Gabriele Hartelt (68) has a small pet dog at home: "I live well for 1500 euros a month. The rising price of gasoline has led to the cost of driving a car has become very high, and I used to like to drive and shop, but now I have gone by bicycle. ”
Warehouse worker Wojciech Palicki (58): "I work in a warehouse at a beverage retailer with a net salary of almost 1500 euros, plus my wife works as a tailor in Poland, our eldest son works at another beverage retailer, and the younger son is still in college. Due to fuel prices, it is now almost impossible to drive a car. Everyone has found that the rice in the supermarket is no longer 0.99 euros, it has risen to 1.2 euros. ”
Construction contractor Darius Twardawski (52) has a pet dog at home: "I am a contractor, working in the office, with a gross income of about 6,000 euros and a net arrival of 3,000 euros. Energy, food, gasoline... All of this has exploded in price. Even if I make a lot of money, I don't drive anymore, it's too expensive. ”
Retired elder Gitta Fuss (70): "I only have a pension of about 1000 euros (per month) and no cars, so the increase in gasoline prices has not affected me much. But I only have about 300 euros for shopping, so I have to pay attention to the specials, which I can afford. I also have a cat, and most of my money is spent on it. ”
Retired elderly Manfred Bunge (70): "I used to be a janitor and now I'm about 1,000 euros a month. I couldn't afford a car, it was all by bike or public transport. What can I expect? Would love to go on vacation, but it's not possible. ”
Retired elderly Manfred Schulz (72): "I used to work for the Berlin sanitation company, and now I count the company's pension of 2,000 euros per month, so life is quite good, but I am still very careful about spending, but I don't have to save money." I'm currently riding my bike out and next month I'll buy a used car from an acquaintance, a 120-horsepower Skoda Yeti, for the money I've saved before. But I'll never be able to afford a new car. ”
Hans-Dieter Sawetzki (66), retired elder: "I was a mechanical assembler who had an accident at work in 2003 and it took me three months to get back on my feet. This year I retired early, a labor-impaired pension of 2000 euros per month Erwerbsminderungsrente. ”
Warehouse worker Claudia Crauciun (52): "I work in a warehouse in a supermarket with a gross income of 1980 euros and a net income of 1500 euros. Working 39 hours a week, I can't save money. Starting next month, we have 200 euros more due to inflation and covid-19. Moreover, if you have not taken leave for 6 consecutive months, you can also get a bonus of 500 euros. ”
Programmer Konstantin (33): "I made a net of 3,000 euros, my wife also has a job, we don't have children yet, and it doesn't feel like it's greatly affected by inflation." We used the money to support our families in Ukraine. We were also saving money and wanted to buy a nice apartment or house on the outskirts of Berlin. ”
Dentist Hassan (48): "I have a net income of 2000 euros and am an expert employee. I usually smoke and roll my own cigarettes to save some money. I'm Iranian, I went to university in Ukraine, and I donated the rest of my money to my friends there. ”
Chef Amar Ashabani (27): "I have a 'mini job', earn 450 euros, and live in a government-funded refugee home. Even though everything is going up, I can sustain it. The last thing I want to give up is a good vodka or a cup of milk tea outside. ”
Madlen (34), a nursing officer at the school for the blind: "I net 2000 euros and don't need to give up anything to save money." My husband has gluten intolerance, so we keep spending more on eating. Money is currently being saved for an apartment as an investment. ”
Burger baker & university student Sola Olorunfeni (50): "I work in a fast food restaurant and live on the 800 euros I make a net income there. At home, I cook my own food, buy ingredients in an African supermarket, and I don't go to restaurants anymore, but I still go to classical concerts occasionally, which I don't want to lose. I also try to send two or three hundred euros to my family in Nigeria every few months. ”
Researcher Conrad (29): "I made a net profit of 2,000 euros, which I called from Poland because I was doing research for a Polish scientific institution. In the past few months, the food has become more expensive, even up 30%, so I have less time to leave the restaurant. I'm also trying to save money, because crises, wars, and covid-19 all show that it's good to have money on hand. But I don't want to cut out my hobbies, I love photography. ”
Dina H. (36), an elementary school teacher: "I went to university for a long time, studied money very well, and made a net income of nearly 3,000 euros per month. I thought about it and discussed it with my husband: We were sure that even with price increases and crises, we could survive it. For me, nuclear energy will be more expensive. ”
Musician Henning S. (49) recently started working as a salesperson: "Because of the new crown, I can't do my music anymore, so I came here to work." I stopped driving a long time ago, and now I ride my bike, and the price of food has risen repeatedly, especially for people like me who only eat organic food. I have a net income of 1200 euros per month, my wife also has a job, we are doing well, but I feel a lot of pressure. ”
Cleaner Ugo Usuoha (58): "I am married and have two children, my daughter is studying medicine at university and my son is working as a technician in a laboratory. I support them. I don't have to give up anything, but by the end of the month there is very little left. ”
Kay D. (52), owner of the handicraft industry: "I am self-employed, with a monthly income of about 3000 to 3500 euros, I had to lay off 4 employees because it was more difficult every year and the cost of materials was higher." I'm doing well at the moment because I don't hire anyone. ”
Retiree Manuela (63): "I used to be a nursing home nurse and now have a small pension of 400 euros per month and a basic subsidy for rent. I'm not having a good time, so I go to Berliner Tafel, a charity table in Berlin, every week for free. Now that the price is rising, I don't think I know when it will completely collapse. ”
Brandenburg software developer Tim Tornoville (45): "I make a net of 8,000 to 9,000 euros a month and don't have to save money. I'm heating with eye materials, I have a solar system and an electric car, so the increase in oil, petrol and gas prices hasn't had much impact on me and we're lucky. We took in a Ukrainian family because we had enough place and were willing to help as well. I could save the money, but actually I already had everything I wanted. Two of my four children are college students, and they are already clearly feeling the pressure of inflation. ”
Cindy Brandenburg (42), educator in Meiqian State: "Gross income 2100 euros, net income 1700 euros." I'll look at where to sell food cheaper and buy less meat. But I can't save money on driving because I commute to work a total of 46 kilometers a day and we live in the village, where public transport is not well developed. I'm saving money in Rister-Bausparen (a kind of building savings) – investing 15 euros a month and wanting to buy a house; In addition, I have a child allowance for 3 children, 800 euros a year.
Around Frankfurt, Hesse
Aykut Sayar (48), whose ancestral home is Frankfurt and now lives in Wiesbaden: "I earn 840 euros a month, including unemployment benefits. During the COVID-19 pandemic, my boss fired me when I was a barista in a café. But next month, I have a good chance of finding a job as a barista. My rent is 400 euros, I can afford it, except for cigarettes, I am not used to my own other problems. I haven't been on vacation for 8 years, and now I only eat pasta with tomato sauce, and I can't afford to eat meat. But I don't want to give up bread and butter, even though they've become so expensive. ”
Isabelle Capasso (31), a university student in Frankfurt and also an artist: "I have 2 children, so I receive a net of 1000 euros per month, and my husband has a net income of about 2400 euros. We don't have to save money, but we also can't buy it casually. We live in Bornheim, 80m² apartment warm rent 780 euros, the rent is OK, so life is still good. ”
Stefane Burger (33), manager of the Sporting Goods Store in Frankfurt: "Gross income 6000 euros, net income 3000 euros. I live in an apartment near the train station, the warm rent is 1100 euros, but the additional cost should be increased again, but I don't know how much it will go up yet. My cars were all in the garage and I could walk to work. ”
Frankfurt artist Alexander Luzius Ziermann (60): "I can sell equipment and decorative paintings for 1,000 to 10,000 euros, and the money is mainly spent on increasingly expensive materials, but I can still survive." My old buddy Jaguar E motorcycle also 'ate' a lot of money. ”
Thomas Gebauer (68), a retired elderly man in Bad Homburg: "It's 1,800 euros a month, so it's a good way to make ends meet and goes on vacation on a motorcycle." Before 2016, I was an IT consultant, and my pension was quite good, and I also had some savings. I have been on holiday in the Rhine-Main region for a long time. ”
North Rhine-Westphalia
Katerina Semardzhiva (26), trainee pastry chef in Wuppertal: "Gross income is 550 euros, net 500 euros." I had to stay local all the time, not traveling, even when I was back in Bulgaria to visit my family. I can't save money, although I still do a 450 euro 'mini job' in a bar on weekends. But inflation is already affecting my life. ”
Niklas (29), event manager in Wuppertal: "Gross income 2100 euros, net income 1400 euros." Life is in a terrible state and we have been working as a short-time labourer together since June. I've been as frugal as possible with heating and driving, but I don't want to give up on small entertainment like going to a bar after work for a beer or visiting friends in Berlin. But big travel is already impossible. ”
Krefeld's carpentry (self-employed) André M. (44) has 3 permanent employees: "Craftsmen I know, at the moment no one says they have nothing to do. They don't take vacations, and even if they have a place to go, they will suddenly receive work, or work that will last for two or three years. I am now paying myself the same salary as before the COVID-19 pandemic, at nearly 4,800 euros. ”
Andreas K. (40), a metal architect in Dortmund: "I am satisfied with the net 2300 euros and have a good life. I took over the house from my parents because they were all in nursing homes. ”
Lower Sa & Hamburg
Sebastian Cordts (32), a psychiatric nurse in Hanover: "Gross income is about 3800 euros, net income is 2600 euros. Recently, wages have risen by 1.3 per cent, but they have also been offset by inflation. I'm not going to complain, I've made a lot of money, but I also have to work hard for it: three shifts, even on holidays. Luckily, I didn't have any big expenses: no kids, no cars, no mortgages. I have a good life, a relatively simple life. What makes you happy is beer, cigarettes and good music. For large purchases, I have to pay in installments, such as the new guitar I just bought, so I have almost 200 euros left every month. ”
Mario Kalmbach (27), a geriatric (nursing home) nurse in Hamburg: "Gross income is 3500 euros, net arrival is 2400 euros." Life goes on, but it's still too little for me. Now prices have been rising, and there is not enough money. In the supermarket, I rarely buy big-name products and rarely buy meat. But unfortunately, the money for cigarettes cannot be saved. ”
Michelle Flügge (26), salesman at Hamburg Life Daily Chemicals: "With a gross income of 2,100 euros and a net income of 1,500 euros, I have clearly found that everything is getting more and more expensive. Don't go out for long holidays, almost only shop at affordable supermarkets. Asparagus is already too expensive for me and I won't buy them this year, even though I love eating them. Every month, 100 euros will be set aside as an emergency reserve, sometimes less than 100 euros, and the money left at the end of the month will be saved anyway. ”
Around Munich, Bavaria
Doris Emde (56), honorary lecturer and owner of Munich: "I recently started my own business, earning 2,000 euros grossly per month and a net turnover of about 1,500 euros, and I expect my income to increase soon. But I'm already living well. Usually do not pay attention to luxury goods, do not need to buy expensive clothes or mobile phones. I prefer to spend my money on good, sustainable, seasonal food, and I don't want to save on these aspects. Every 5 euro note in my hand, I will exist together. Last year, I saved 600 euros, and then I would use the money to treat myself, such as going to a massage or going to a restaurant. ”
Helmut Berger (84) in Munich, who worked in the slaughtering industry for 45 years, has now retired for 23 years: "I used to earn 3800 marks when I used to work, and now I have a pension of 1900 euros per month. I don't have to pay rent and live in a house with my wife. Prices went up, but we were lucky: we had two apartments and both rented them out. The main impact of rising prices is not the elderly, many of my friends are struggling to make ends meet. ”
Lisa Pfister (45), Munich nurse: "Fortunately, I am a person with very low material needs, having been a nurse for many years at Großhadern Medicine, affiliated with the University of Munich, with an income of almost 3,000 euros. The apartment rents for 1700 euros, fortunately I found a tenant to share the rent, otherwise I would not have been able to afford this apartment. ”
Heike Ordelheide (66) of Dachau: "To make ends meet, I have to work two jobs, stand at the fruit stand for 6 hours a day, and then drive to the post office, where I work until midnight." The income of two jobs is almost 3500 euros, and my husband has a pension of 450 euros. The house we stayed in was cold rented for 450 euros. We have 8 grandchildren and they spend a lot of money, but it also makes the work very valuable. ”
Bavarian investor Toni Schmidt (23): "Inflation is bad for a lot of people, but I'm lucky that it didn't affect me. I am an investor in a securities investment fund, earning 8,000 to 9,000 euros per month, and I am still repaying my apartment in Munich, about 800 euros per month. ”
Christina Bosch (23), a university student in Munich, uses her leisure time to work: "I was lucky that I lived with my parents, but I didn't have much savings. I'm studying business psychology, and I'm working as a salesperson. There is an income of 1000 euros per month. ”
Thuringia
Abdullah Moradi (24), a factory hourly worker: "I make a net of 1200 to 1400 euros, depending on the shift situation in the month. We work in three shifts and produce bottle caps. Almost a moonlighter, I wanted to save money, but no way, I still have a wife and a child. Sometimes I ask myself where the money has gone. But I'm still happy to have a job, and I'm allowed to work. ”
Janette Möder (38), a nursing home nurse: "Gross income 2200 euros, net income 1600 euros." Overall, I had to give up a lot of things, but the refueling money was a must be paid because we lived in the country. We almost only buy specials in supermarkets, but I still want to go on holiday, to Bulgaria, Mallorca or in the country. Before the new crown, I can still save money, and I will save 250 to 300 euros a month for travel. Now that the budget is tight, maybe another 100 euros can be saved. Luckily, my husband also has a job. ”
Torsten Klügel (40) the fine carpenter (self-employed): "I make about 2,000 euros per month. We can't spend money casually and have to pay attention to the price with our two children. We lived in the village, we needed a car – and for work, I couldn't always go to work on a cargo bike. The rest of the money is invested in the house and is paying off the mortgage. ”
Saxony
Louai Alassaf (18), a trainee nursing nurse at a nursing home in Chemnitz, currently earns about 400 euros a month, "Which is enough for me, as long as my family is doing well, I don't need a lot of things." Of course, I can't help but save money. If one day I can save some money, I'll use it to buy new clothes and a BMW. ”
Mandy Neumann (44), a building cleaner in Chemnitz, who earns about 1,000 euros per month, "is still able to make ends meet, but there is little spare." To buy food, you must first look at the price. Forget that the past actually had everything I needed. I save about 50 euros a month – for vacations and so on. Of course, I can't afford a big trip, and I hope to one day go to a warm place like Greece or Hawaii. But it's all just a dream. I don't want or just say I can't live without coffee, I need three pots of coffee every day, and I don't want to miss some good books and a plate of chocolates from time to time. ”
Frank Tannhäuser (66), a math teacher in Chemnitz, earns 3,000 euros a month: "So I can afford what I want, which is enough, even to save 30% of the money." In terms of money, the only thing I can't do is not travel around the world. What I don't want to give up is the monthly theater and live tickets for football matches. I'm a die-hard fan of Chemnitz. ”
Michelle (21), a graduate student in Chemnitz's Chinese and linguistics, earns about 400 euros while working part-time (logistics/receiving & shipping): "I don't have to give up my original life, but now my parents are funding me to study." Basically, I don't need much money either, and the most I can do is visit friends in western Germany, which is something I don't want to give up. You can save about 100 euros per friend. If I had the money, I would go back to the exam and get a few tattoos. ”
Simone Köhler (59, professional salesman) in Chemnitz is still working as a short-time worker Kurzarbeit, so the gross income is only 1800 euros, which is about 60% of her normal salary, "If I don't have a partner, I don't know how to make ends meet." Also because of having a partner, I don't have to give up anything. But because of the new crown, many of them have shrunk significantly, which will make it very irritable and irritable. At the moment, I can barely keep more than 50 euros of money, so I can't support my son or grandson financially. ”
Steven Meyer (37, clerk in the public service department) in Chemnitz currently earns 1,800 euros grossly and a net income of just over 1,000 euros, "My family and I are doing well, but it can be better." People have accepted their wages (actually sustainably) to some extent and lowered their expectations. I'm married, I have a young son, and you often give up something yourself in order to give him something. Saving money, really can't save. My last hope is that we will still be able to afford heating and electricity, which is the most important thing we cannot give up. ”
Bafu State
Nele Rolf (18) is working as an FSJ (Voluntary Social Service Year) at the Diakonikiklinik Hospital in Stuttgart, earning 475 euros a month and only 2.8 euros an hour, "I have to really save money, the room I live in the hospital is still paid by my parents, otherwise I really can't get by." ”
Stefanie Schnerring (60) retired early, with a monthly pension of 878 euros and a 143 euro Wohngeld household allowance: "I have been a restaurant manager for 40 years. I'm glad I've been working, otherwise the pension would have been lower. The monthly pension is used to cover living expenses, 42 m² of apartment rent 610 euros, and another 30 euros for telephone calls. ”
Note: Kurzarbeit short-term workers are not temporary or hourly workers, and in general, since the covid-19 pandemic, there have been many enterprises that have reduced their working hours due to the epidemic, thereby reducing the wages paid to employees, which is a special situation of paying or going to work.