We’ve been hearing about inflation for some time now in the United States, but the word itself is a bit vague. Though it’s a broad, general term, some areas have been affected by it much more than others. As such, it’s helpful to know just which sectors have been hit hardest when planning your budget.
According to MarketWatch, March is when inflation really began to hit the US hard. At the time, the consumer price index had risen at an 8 percent annual rate. This happens to be the highest it’s been in more than 40 years. In the past two months alone, prices have gone up to a 10.8 percent annual rate? So, what does this mean for us? Basically, everything is more expensive, but four areas are worse than others: energy, shelter, vehicles, and food.
Accounting for about 61 percent of what we as consumers purchase, those four areas account for a whopping 81 percent of the inflation we’re experiencing. Energy contributed the most. Though it only makes up about 8 percent of a family’s budget, it accounts for nearly 30 percent of inflation. Motor vehicles also only account for 8 percent of a family’s budget, yet new vehicle prices have risen 11.1 percent.
Shelter on the other hand accounts for 30 percent of a family’s budget. Luckily, rent has only risen by an average of nearly 4 percent across the board. Unfortunately, the past three months have seen it go up 5.5 percent, the highest since 1990. On the other hand, food prices have risen about 5.8 percent, it’s isn’t as bad as it could be.
Luckily, inflation is not really hitting health care, prescription drug costs, health insurance, and college tuition.
College Students Don’t Care About Inflation Until They Learn it Affects Beer Prices
When it comes to spending our hard-earned money, we all have our sets of priorities. For instance, I’d be heartbroken if inflation started affecting video games and prices there. College students, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care much about inflation at all until learning beer prices were rising because of it.
Reporter Ophelie Jacobson from Fox News spoke to dozens of students of Florida in Gainesville about inflation and beer. Asking attendees there what they thought about inflation and rising prices, they seemed indifferent at first. They quickly changed their tune though when Jacobson started hitting them with hard facts.
“Inflation isn’t a problem for a college student until they go to the grocery store and try to buy a 12-pack of Corona, and it costs 70% more than it did the year before,” Jacobson stated. As previously mentioned, the food sector is one of the areas hit the hardest by inflation, and with college students typically not having a lot of spending money, they’re likely feeling the sting.
Or perhaps more appropriately, they’re not feeling much of anything since they can’t afford beer. No buzzes, only sadness.
