Yes, people can survive very high inflation, but it can require painful changes and outside support. When prices keep rising faster than earnings, purchasing power falls. **Budgeting has limits: if income cannot cover essentials, you need additional income, assistance, or a cheaper living arrangement.**

Your phone and car examples show how unaffordable those purchases have become. Establishing hyperinflation requires measuring how quickly prices rise over time; the practical problem you describe is serious either way.

A useful order of priorities is:

1. **Work out what it costs to get through the next week.** Price food, housing, utilities, necessary medicine, and transport to work. Update those prices weekly. This tells you whether you have a surplus to protect or a shortfall to address.

2. **Buy planned necessities promptly when prices are rising rapidly.** A modest supply of food that keeps well can help if you have safe storage. Keep enough accessible money for bills and emergencies. Bulk purchases only help when you will use them and can still meet other essential expenses.

3. **Seek faster income adjustments.** Ask about more frequent pay, regular wage reviews, or transport and meal allowances. If you work for yourself, review prices against current replacement costs and shorten payment deadlines. Consider additional work where the likely earnings justify the time and expenses.

4. **Protect any savings cautiously.** Inflation erodes the purchasing power of cash and deposits when their returns lag behind prices. Where legal and accessible, holding some savings in a more stable currency may help, but exchange fees, withdrawal restrictions, and the safety of the provider matter. Keep money for immediate expenses accessible. The IMF describes both [inflation’s effect on savings](https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2023/04/03/fiscal-policy-can-help-tame-inflation-and-protect-the-most-vulnerable) and [why households turn to foreign currencies](https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2016/09/catao.htm).

5. **Be careful with debt.** Avoid borrowing in a foreign currency if your income is in local currency: depreciation can make repayments much harder. Variable interest rates can also rise. Even fixed-rate debt requires payments you can afford today. See the [IMF’s explanation of foreign-currency borrowing risks](https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2016/09/21/enhancing-monetary-policy-flexibility-through-de-dollarization).

6. **Use shared resources and assistance early.** Sharing housing, pooling shopping or transport, repairing equipment, and checking eligibility for food or utility assistance can reduce pressure. Protect nutrition and necessary medical care as far as possible.

For a phone or car, consider whether it preserves or increases your earnings, and include maintenance, fuel, and financing in the cost. Months of salary also understate the saving time because you still have living expenses.

What country and currency are you dealing with, and does your current income still cover your basic monthly expenses?