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Ghar Kharcha: The Wedding Season Bill

While fuel excise duty cuts offered a breather, high prices of perishables were a party spoiler.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>Customers inspect a saree at the Roopmilan store, a fabric retailer operated by Roopam &amp; Roopmilan that supplies bridal sarees, in the Marine Lines area of Mumbai.</p></div>
Customers inspect a saree at the Roopmilan store, a fabric retailer operated by Roopam & Roopmilan that supplies bridal sarees, in the Marine Lines area of Mumbai.

Diwali at the start of the month and the big fat Indian wedding season soon after—November was a busy month. It was made busier by a rush to get married before the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus disrupts plans.

Amid the hectic activity, household expenses were a mixed bag. While an excise duty cut meant a breather for your monthly fuel bill, high prices of vegetables played party pooper.

Retail inflation was at a three-month high in November, rising to 4.9% compared with 4.5% in October. The headline number hid some very sharp changes in the prices of everyday items.

The Food Counter Costs More, But Not The Alcohol Counter

If you were planning a wedding, then you probably had to shell out more to put up a good spread for your guests. Food, after all, is almost the best thing about weddings!

Inflation in the vegetables category, while lower than a year ago, rose 7.4% month-on-month. Inflation in fruits rose to 6% year-on year, while sugar and confectionery inflation was at 6.1%. Sweets, cakes and pastry prices rose 8.5% from a year prior.

Cut back on the veg pulao maybe? Also on the fruit chaat and the dessert counter?

Refined oil prices declined for the third straight month but remained 33% higher than a year earlier. No escaping this one, unless you want a 'salads only' wedding!

The good news—alcohol prices are business as usual. Be it country or foreign liquor, inflation ranged between 3% and 4%.

Ghar Kharcha: The Wedding Season Bill

Much has been said about tomato prices over the month.

Tomato was 31.4% costlier than a year earlier and nearly 30% higher than the previous month. So, you can bet that the wedding caterer put fewer tomatoes in the curry.

If your wedding was in Delhi, you were the worst hit.

Food and beverage inflation was the highest in Delhi at 8.9%, followed by Haryana at 6.2%. Vegetable prices were the highest in Delhi and Tamil Nadu. In Delhi, prices of vegetables were higher by 6.9% from last year, while in Tamil Nadu, vegetables were costlier by 5.3%.

Ghar Kharcha: The Wedding Season Bill

Fashion Inflation. Yes, It's A Thing.

You've heard enough about food inflation but have you measured fashion inflation? Yes, it is a thing!

Whether you are looking for a saree or a lehenga for a wedding, or a nice pair of shoes, you're probably paying more.

Clothing and footwear inflation continued to rise and was at 7.9% in November. That's the highest it has been at since August 2014.

Saree price inflation was at 8% in November, the highest since at least 2015. The ministry provides no such data for lehengas sadly, so we can't tell you if designer lehengas are costing more. Shirts, trousers and shawls all saw prices rise by over 8% compared to last year.

Gold prices eased, giving you reason to go bling this wedding season.

Planning or attending a destination wedding? We have bad news. Airfares have risen 33.5% in November.

Ghar Kharcha: The Wedding Season Bill

Breather For Bills

While you racked up wedding expenses, you got some relief from utility bills.

Electricity, petrol, diesel and even internet expenses eased.

Electricity prices are 1.7% lower than last year, while internet price inflation fell to 6.5%, the lowest in five months. While petrol and diesel prices remained much higher than a year earlier, they fell 2.5% and 6.9% respectively over a month ago.

Brace for higher phone bills, though. After telecom firms hiked prepaid tariffs, will postpaid tariff hikes follow?

Ghar Kharcha: The Wedding Season Bill