By Claudia Ciobanu
WARSAW, July 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – At home in a residential district of Warsaw, the Karolinczaks are feeling the pinch of Poland’s highest inflation since the late 1990s.
First, the family saw the cost of a basket of groceries creeping higher. Then, their monthly mortgage repayments shot up due to interest rate hikes – part of the central bank’s efforts to keep a lid on consumer price rises.
Read more: The Inflation Diaries series
“We’re definitely feeling the pressure,” said Jarek Karolinczak, 44, an accountant, adding that their monthly mortgage payment had risen by 600 zlotys over the past six months.
“But we’re not at the point of being afraid just yet – we still manage. The (government) subsidies we get for having three kids are definitely helping.”
This entitles them to 1,500 zlotys per month in child benefit – a considerable sum in a country where the average monthly wage is just over 4,000 zlotys ($836).
Prices of basic food items have increased by about 20% over the past year, stoking inflation that is running at more than 15% – the highest since 1997.
