Omar has stopped using the air conditioner, Mary has cut back on driving, and David must ask for help to cover daily electricity, gas, and food expenses. The surge in essential costs is forcing many families to rethink their routines and constantly balance the books to get through the day.
Data from several consumer groups shows the Consumer Price Index rose 10.8 percent last July, potentially adding about 2,800 euros a year to a typical family budget.
“All of this means pressure for households already barely getting by,” says Efe, a coordinator of the Caritas study team, reflecting on the realities faced by many in Spain. Raul Flores adds a note of concern about the broader impact.
“It’s easier to send my kids to Morocco than to get electricity”
Omar, a 42-year-old electrician, lives in the rough outskirts of La Royal Glen and shares a Madrid home with his five children. Since early 2021, his family has struggled with no reliable power source at all. They rely on a few generators that neighbors share, a stopgap that helps but does not replace a steady supply of electricity.
“I’ve been without power at home for almost two years, so there’s little I can do,” Omar explains. He notes that air-conditioning is essential in Madrid to cope with heat waves, especially for the children and elderly relatives. The living space is tight, making heat a daily challenge for everyone under the same roof.
With severe heat, Omar and his relatives must endure crowded conditions in a small home. The European Service notes that last month was among the hottest Julys ever recorded globally and one of the warmest Julys in Europe in recent history, underscoring the climate-driven stress many households feel. Copernican data is included to illustrate the scale of the trend. (Source: European Service)
Facing the heat, Omar has even chosen to send his children to stay with relatives in Morocco for part of the summer, hoping to escape the worst of the conditions here. “Sending my children to Morocco reduces electricity use and keeps the home cooler,” he says, while acknowledging that the family must continue to work and earn money to cover ongoing costs.
Despite these pressures, Omar remains in Madrid and continues to go to work, driven by the need to bring money back to the family. The city’s high temperatures and the lack of a stable power supply complicate daily life, making it a constant ask for resilience and adaptation.
How can five people live on a thousand euros?
Gas prices are another major headache for many households. With fuel costs climbing above two euros per liter, some families choose not to fill up and instead walk or use public transport to stretch limited budgets. Miriam, who shares a small apartment in Gran Canaria with her husband and their three children, describes how the price surge hit suddenly and forced hard choices since both adults were unemployed. They previously lived comfortably on about a thousand euros monthly between them, but rising prices have changed that equation significantly.
“With this money, basic expenses for five people become a real test,” she explains. The decision to cut back is clear: driving is kept to what’s absolutely necessary, and public transport is used more often, even if it means longer trips. The weekly car deposit is steep, so many families are forced into careful planning and prioritization of every trip. (Source: OCU consumer report)
One of the hardest consequences is limited mobility and the need to make difficult trade-offs to ensure essentials like food and energy can be covered. The reality is that even small indulgences fade away as families count every euro, looking for ways to stretch the budget without sacrificing basic living standards.
“I’ll have to leave the flat”
According to the Organization of Consumers and Users, rising food costs can add well over 500 euros per year to a typical family’s spending. After analyzing more than 150 everyday products, the organization found that 84 percent increased in price, and the shopping basket grew by about 9.4 percent. David García, a 39-year-old unemployed father, recently faced a rent increase and a higher grocery bill, which forced him to constantly run the numbers to sustain his household and seek government support. If price trends continue, he fears he may have to move to a smaller home or different area to lower costs.
David and his wife Zaida, who have a six-year-old, try to save by choosing private-label products and avoiding dining out. “Eating out is becoming nearly impossible; where a family meal once cost around 21 euros for five kilograms of meat, it now nears forty euros. Many households simply can’t afford it anymore,” he notes. The family is doing what they can to endure the squeeze while staying hopeful for relief. (Source: OCU reports)
Washing machine and heating at dawn, a fair balance
María, a nursing assistant and a single mother, supports her daughter’s university dreams in Madrid while caring for her own mother. She had managed on a monthly salary of about 1,300 euros, but price rises, especially for electricity, have altered her financial picture. “I can barely cover all my expenses with my salary,” she says, adding that she also helps cover her mother’s medical costs, which adds to the pressure.
To manage costs, she runs the washing machine at dawn to take advantage of lower electricity rates, and she avoids using heating during the colder mornings unless absolutely necessary. In the summer, air conditioning is used sparingly, limited to a few hours each day, to keep the home bearable without breaking the budget. This shift in routines reflects a broader pattern across households who are learning to live with tighter energy use while maintaining essential comforts.