• While thousands of people are expected in the streets to demonstrate against the pension reform, 20 Minutes gives the floor to a retiree who has agreed to open her accounts for us.

  • Michèle Attal receives 1,193 euros in retirement each month and spends more than 1,000 euros for her rent, her food and to pay her various bills.

  • The details of his expenses and his tips for dealing with inflation can be seen in the video placed at the top of this article.

“It's day-to-day life, I don't know if I could still buy cheese at the end of the month and it's rather sad”.

While thousands of French people are mobilizing against Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, 20 Minutes gives the floor to Michèle Attal.

A Dijonnaise retired for six years who agreed to open her accounts for the month of December 2022.

On the income side, the calculation is quick, 1,193 euros of retirement pension to which are added 47 euros of APL (personalized housing allowance) for a total of 1,240 euros per month.

A fixed and almost definitive amount undermined by the rise in food and energy prices.

"I don't have a 13th month or a profit-sharing bonus" specifies Michèle "as soon as there is an increase, I am directly impacted on my budget".

The 68-year-old retiree is doing everything to reduce her food bill.

In addition to going to several supermarkets to find the cheapest prices, she no longer buys alcohol, has reduced her coffee consumption, and bakes her own bread.

Despite her efforts, Michèle has noticed that since September, the price of her groceries has increased by around 50 euros per month.

300 euros more could make all the difference

As far as heating is concerned, the 60-year-old has also put in place strategies to reduce her bills.

She turns off her boiler at night, “I told myself that it would make a third less gas to pay per day,” she estimates.

Same thing when she goes to her gym classes in the morning: “I don't turn on the boiler and I only turn it on when I get home so it saves me 10 hours of heating”.

A day-to-day life for Michèle Attal, who finds it difficult to project herself financially in the months to come: "I don't know if I could still buy cheese at the end of the month and it's rather sad".

According to her, just 300 euros more could make all the difference and allow her to "worry less" and maybe even go on vacation this year.

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