Minimum hike has effect on budget too

Dubai: Small increase in prices of essentials, which may seem negligible, do matter too as far as household budgets are concerned, according to Dr Avin Al Salihi, a Swedish engineer and homemaker.

"Even if the price of regular grocery items jumps by a very small amount, it snowballs into a considerable sum at the end of the month," Al Salihi said.

"This is because food price inflation moves at a faster pace while the monthly household income stays static for longer periods of time," she said.

Also, the price hikes trickle down to the consumers in more than one way, sometimes in a hidden form, she added.

Having lived in the UAE for the past four years, Al Salihi said she has noticed that the prices of essential grocery items have gone up year after year.

However, the prices are still similar or slightly cheaper as compared to her home country, she said.

Top factors

In 2010, the biggest factors affecting her family budget were rent, petrol and lifestyle requirements such as entertainment, dining and so on.

She spends about Dh5,000 on grocery shopping for her family of three members — including her husband and her baby — and their nanny.

Her advice to save money is to try and buy in bulk as much as possible and to buy from bigger shops rather than relying on smaller groceries which are costlier.