If there is one thing that scares Germans, it is the thought of a gaping empty wallet. For the third year in a row, the fear of a higher cost of living has been ranked number one in R V Versicherung's annual fear ranking. Even though inflation continues to fall, companies are paying out inflation bonuses, and wage settlements are also high, people in Germany still remain skeptical.

People feel it at the supermarket checkout when they see that there are fewer items in the shopping cart for the same amount of money.

The director of the study, Grischa Brower-Rabinowitsch, told DW: "This is a really deep-seated fear in Germany. In the 33 years of our study, the fear of the rising costs of living has been the number one fear in our study for a total of 14 times. As soon as prices go up, this fear resurfaces."

For this year's study, some 2,400 respondents from the age of 14 were surveyed between July and August.

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Overall, the mood has actually brightened somewhat in 2024. In fact, the fear of rising living costs among respondents actually fell by 8% compared to the........

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