American Consumers Feeling The Pinch As Inflation Rates Reach Highest Point In Three Decades
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- While the holiday shopping season is being labeled a success this year, we know you're paying for it.
With higher prices on just about everything, from the toys you bought for Christmas, to the items you need to put dinner on the table every night, here are some tips on how to get through 2022 with your budget intact.
How many times have you heard yourself in the last couple of months, checking out at the grocery store, saying 'Everything is so expensive!'?
Inflation is at its highest point in three decades, and you know and have felt what that means. So what can we do while we wait for prices to level out?
Forty-five percent of American households are struggling or facing some financial hardship because of inflation, according to a Gallup survey released earlier this month.
While people are still spending, especially over the holidays, it doesn't mean it's been easy.
Point Park University Associate Professor Dr. Dorene Ciletti says while many people have returned to work in some form, there are several layers of issues leading to the rise in prices, including going back to the shutdown of 2020.
Watch the full interview with Dr. Ciletti:
"We are in a period of inflation. We don't know how this will really roll out over the next year or so, how much impact this will have on us, so do your best to be prepared," Dr. Ciletti said.
Dr. Ciletti says one of the best things you can do is to start with a budget.
While it seems simple, she says to pay attention to the prices and to how they're impacting your finances.
This includes taking a look at auto-payments, as well as looking at what you are signed up for that might be coming out of your bank account that you no longer need.
Dr. Ciletti says being pro-active about spending means really examining your needs vs. wants, knowing that some things will intersect, but others are things we can do without for now.
