HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Prices on everyday expenses keep going up. I’ve listened to many people in the community recently about it.
“Everything has increased. It’s terrible,” said Sandy Sherk, who lives in Pinellas County.
“You have eggs that’s going up, milk is going up, everything. So it’s been a struggle here,” said Samara Adderley, who lives in Hillsborough County.
WATCH Latest CPI report shows inflation cooled, but experts warn prices are still high
“Everything has gone up, like some stuff are almost double,” said Kerisse Sentino, who lives in Hillsborough County.
It’s why I’ve been keeping track of updates to the inflation rate.
The latest Consumer Price Index report shows that the inflation rate dropped to 3.5% from 4.2%.
However, just because inflation cooled does not mean most of your everyday expenses are any cheaper.
“Prices are still going up; they’re just not as fast as they were before… If you couldn’t afford groceries last month, you still can’t afford them this month because prices still went up,” said Thomas Stockwell, Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa.
The recent decrease in the inflation rate is largely credited to fuel and energy costs.
We saw that reflected at the gas pump this past month with lower prices. However, as the war with Iran moves back to rocky territory, the price of gas is starting to increase again.
“There’s a decent chance that we see those energy prices go right back up next month,” said Stockwell.
Which means budgets will remain tight for now.
“Some people can’t afford it. Some people can’t even afford food,” said Sentino.
“It’s just very difficult to budget,” said Sherk.
People told Tampa Bay 28 they’re looking for relief.
“[It’s] pretty difficult when you’re paying rent, when you’re paying a car note, car insurance, everything has been going up. And you barely have enough for groceries,” said Adderley.
While a lower inflation rate is a move in the right direction, experts warn we still need more time to monitor if this downward trend will continue.
“Keep in mind the Federal Reserve thinks 2% inflation is what stable inflation is so we’re still above that 2% mark but it is a move in the right direction,” said Stockwell.
“This is one data point. And one data point does not mean that all of a sudden all of our lives are going to get better and prices are going down. We are still fighting the war on inflation,” he added.
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