Inflation, “in 2050 a cup of coffee could cost more than 4 euros”

In 2050 we could get to pay 4.26 euros for an espresso at the bar. Moneyfarm, a digital financial consultancy firm, has traced a concrete framework of what will cost to live in twenty -five years. The most likely scenario: a 64% increase in prices compared to today, “Although the inflation remained stable around 2%, the target set by the ECB,” underlines Davide Cominardi, Investment Consultant Manager of Moneyfarm.

If today an average Italian family spends 2,128 euros per month, in 2050 it will spend around 3,491with an annual increase of over 16 thousand euros. And this is the “moderate scenario. If, on the other hand, we have taken the medium inflation as a parameter since 1948, which stands out At +5.2% per year, the monthly expenditure could touch the 7,560 euros. Translated: 65 thousand euros more per year, just to maintain the same standard of living.

Here then also coffee becomes a litmus test of the domestic economy: from 1.20 euros to potential 4.26 euros.

Who will pay the bill? Depends. Pensioners, at least those with checks up to 2,394 euros gross, are among the most protected: their pensions are 100% re -evaluated on inflation. Those who earn more, however, see the percentage drop: 90% between four and five times the minimum, 75% beyond.

The workers, on the other hand, walk on a more rough ground. If on the one hand the INAPP ratio shows an increase in real wages of 1% between 1991 and 2023, on the other The international work organization records, in Italy, a drop in 8.1% of purchasing power from 2008 to 2024summarizes the report. In short, not only wages grow little, but often they also lose ground compared to the increase in prices.

There is a concrete response to caravan, but it requires courage and foresight: investing. According to the calculations of Moneyfarm, An average Italian worker saves about 2,340 euros per year. If he left them stopped in the bank for 25 years, he would see 38% evaporate of real value. But if he had invested in European government bonds, he would have kept purchasing power and earned +9%. What if he had focused on the global share? Today it would have +106% more purchasing power.

Cominardi explains: «The most underestimated risk is precisely that of doing nothing. Inflation acts as an invisible tax on our savings. The investment becomes a form of financial self -defensewith which to preserve capital and life objectives ».

In the decade 1973-1984, Italian inflation often exceeded 10% per year, with monstrous peaks: +21.1% in 1980. After relatively quiet decades, 2022 made memories that seemed buried: +8.1%. Nobody can foresee the future, but one thing is certain: “In the last 77 years only in five cases there has been negative inflation”. It is an exception: let’s take into account.