Why does filling a trolley now feel like taking out a second mortgage? Stories of supermarket workers helping families afford baby formula highlight individual kindness, but the ONS data shows exactly why such gestures have become necessary.

The Consumer Price Index including housing costs has jumped from 162,574 in 2021 to 201,118 in 2025. That's not just a number. It's the mathematical proof of why your weekly shop that cost £80 four years ago now demands £99 from your bank account. (Source: ONS, CPIH (Consumer Prices Index including Housing))

The acceleration tells the real story. Between 1988 and 2020, prices climbed steadily but predictably. Then 2021 happened. The index shot up by 16,000 points in a single year, the steepest annual jump in the dataset's 38-year history. Your pound lost more purchasing power in 2022 than in the previous decade combined.

For families, this translates to brutal arithmetic. A household spending £2,000 monthly on essentials in 2021 now needs £2,474 to buy the same goods. That's an extra £5,688 per year just to maintain the same standard of living. No wonder supermarket staff are witnessing scenes that didn't exist five years ago.

The housing component makes it worse. Unlike the old retail price index, CPIH includes mortgage costs, council tax, and rent. So when your landlord hiked your rent and your weekly shop got pricier, both hits show up in this single, unforgiving number.

What's particularly galling is the pace. The 2024 to 2025 jump alone added nearly 6,000 points to the index. That's roughly equivalent to three years of normal inflation compressed into twelve months. Every month, your money buys less. Every shopping trip confirms it.

The supermarket worker helping with baby formula isn't just showing human decency. She's responding to a mathematical reality where young families face impossible choices. When the cost of everything essential rises this fast, kindness becomes the difference between a fed baby and an empty cupboard.

This isn't about economic theory or policy debates. It's about the precise calculation that determines whether you can afford both heating and eating this month. The index doesn't lie, even when politicians claim inflation is under control. Your trolley tells the truth: Britain is 24% more expensive than it was four years ago, and every family feels every percentage point.