A typical family needed $2.4 million in May to cover basic expenses in Buenos Aires.

A typical family needed $2,420,482 to cover their basic expenses in May in the City of Buenos Aires , according to the monthly survey by the Consumer Education, Services, and Counseling Center ( CESyAC ). This represents $80,682 per day and a 2.68% increase compared to April.

Of the estimated total, $680,598 went to consumer goods , while $1,739,884 went to household services . The basket includes items such as rent, vehicle maintenance, prepaid medical care, private education, and club dues.

Among the areas with the largest increases were transportation: the subway rose 5.75% and the bus fare rose 5.73%. There were also increases in mobile phone service (4.5%), private schools (3.7%), electricity (3.5%), prepaid medical care , and gas (both with increases of 2.5%).

In food, meat prices increased by 1.54%, while cleaning products rose by 1.87%. Unlike other products, fuel prices fell: gasoline fell by 4% and diesel by 2.8%.

The report also highlighted that, year-on-year, total household expenditures increased by 78.97% between June 2024 and May 2025, reflecting persistent inflationary pressure despite the monthly slowdown.

Although the Consumer Price Index rose by just 1.5% in May—the lowest in five years—family wages remain below par. According to the Capital Foundation, "with authorities reinforcing the wage anchor in pursuit of deflation, it is difficult to foresee a real recovery in income in the second half of the year."

Between January and April, registered private sector wages fell 1.9% in real terms. Although several collective bargaining agreements were reopened following the end of the crawling peg, the agreed increases are not enough to match core inflation, which remains close to 3% monthly.

"In the best-case scenario, workers' incomes would match the inflationary dynamic in the second half of the year," the Foundation explained. This way, real wages in 2025 would remain at levels similar to those at the end of last year.

The loss of household purchasing power was already evident in April with a 0.4% drop, and the cumulative decline was 1.9% in the first four months. Thus, the slight rebound observed since April 2024 was interrupted, and workers have yet to recover against the sustained rise in the cost of living, despite the economic policy promoted by Javier Milei .