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

Edward Smith, co-chief investment officer at Rathbones, explains what it is and why it matters

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.