What’s my personal inflation rate? We ask an expert

theguardian.com:

Last month, anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe sparked change by highlighting huge price increases on food that far exceeded the Office for National Statistics’ inflation figure of 5.4%; the cost of living crisis, it seems, is hitting low-income Britons the hardest. The ONS responded by saying it accepted that everyone has their own “personal inflation” rate. But what affects our rate, and why does it matter? I asked Edward Smith, co-chief investment officer at Rathbones, a wealth management firm which offers a free-to-use personal inflation calculator.

I’d never heard of a personal inflation rate before. Why are we talking about it now? For the last 25 years, inflation has been stable. But now we’re back to a rate we haven’t seen since the 90s. It’s probably going to get up to 7.5%, possibly 8%, come April.

Oof! All this because of energy prices? Not entirely. Energy prices accounted for about six-tenths of the overall increase last year, but there’s also Covid. We’re spending more on goods than services, and that demand butted up against supply-chain disruptions. The good news is we think spending habits are likely to normalise, and we expect it to be back at 2% by next year.

Hmm, I’m not sure. It sounds like inflation spikes when disaster strikes, and with the climate crisis thereare plenty of those coming. Yes. Some of the areas most affected by climate disasters are in our supply chains, such as Asia. Though there are some people who say the rising energy costs are due to Europe going down the green route too quickly and failing to consider the impact of a relatively windless summer, like last year’s.

So how long have the ONS averages on inflation been problematic? I wouldn’t say they have been. The ONS has always been