Wait until you go to the grocery store this week,. I thought I'd faint.

[BelgianMadCow]

86. We have seen no big hike recently in Belgium, but I read in Greece

produce is like 20% up.

I shop at Aldi - parking lot is always bustling, people filling up their carts like half. Parking lot of Carrefour / Lion etc is 1/4 tops and people are carrying a couple items in a handbasket (mrs makes me go buy Coke light :-/).

As far as inflation goes: typical monthly bill for a family of 4
- heating: 250 euro (using heating oil in a modest freestanding house)
- transport: 140 km total commute -> 300 euro (gasoline at 1,56 euro per liter...)
- electricity: 125 euro
- internet + cable + phone (without mobile!): 75 euro
- groceries (weekly): 70 euro Aldi (little meat & produce tbh, we eat at work/school) and 35 Carrefour - some 400 euro total
- water: 30 euro
- if applicable: 1 child in daycare 350 euro
Thats 1530 euro in fixed costs if you will.

Everything that you can't afford to miss is going up like 10% yearly, food and energy we are totally being ripped on (+15-20% last couple years).

Count in a 1200 euro downpayment and a 3200 total net income (which is perfectly average), you see the picture.

We are not eating out, or paying for much other entertainment, our going on out-of-country holidays.

Of course, our health care and education are very cheap, how long that lasts is something else.

If not for the savings of our parents (who did that with usually 1 person working...), we wouldn't quite make it. But, I know we have much to learn in terms of frugality; so many people are worse off.

Luckily, our inflation is low *sarcasm* and the economic fundamentals are strong (austerity inc, Greekstyle: lower social security - tax working people - kill subsidies - lower pensions)

All because we have to save banks - the US had the "throw money to the banks" in 2008, we only limited but in the EU we're at it full throttle now (500 billion QE-style for banks in december alone, 1,5 T expected in february again).

Here in Belgium, our media keep us so dumb that 95% of the people don't even know it's happening. TPTB don't want us to know - we have (had) some of the worlds largest banks you see...Occupy was initmidated off the streets in a flash. But we izz coming back methinks, this time with alternatives - barter networks, consumption stops, community banks, vote with our wallets.

sorry for the rant