Gov tells us that since Jan. 2020 inflation is 19.6 percent. That is a national one-size-fits-all increase. It does not account for increases in costs of food, fuel, utilities, new and used cars, repairs, rents for renters, house prices, mortgages taken out since then, taxes on homes, auto and homeowners insurance. medical care, etc., etc. And it does not take into account demographics and geographics. Gov inflation numbers are NOT realistic for the typical individual and family. What does your inflation gauge say? I'm of the mind that 19.6 fits few, if any, individuals or families.

Thought I could get a good number by subtracting current checking acct from 2021 checking, minus daycare. That got me to 8% when I adjust for decrease in mortgage due to refinance where I stopped paying extra and absorbed that to help with inflation

I'm looking to see what I've forgotten

But bills and living expenses are in one account, budged to make it month to month and it's pretty tight. I regularly have to borrow $200 from savings which I pay back end of month.

Eh, 15-20% is accurate for me personally (maybe even a bit high), but only because my largest monthly expense is low, fixed rate debt purchased pre-2020. Now if I had to repurchase my home at current prices/rates, that number is probably 75-100%. Excluding housing, all my other costs are up 20-40%.

I admit to not fully understanding how housing costs are included in the CPI data. I know it's very nuanced, but it's the largest weight to CPI.

harge57 said:

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My wife just went to costco and spent $900 on strictly consumables.

Groceries, insurance, property tax, and cost of private school are the biggest areas we have seen inflation.

Now that I list that out, that's where 75% of my money goes, so I guess inflation is just everywhere.

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How big is your family? Did she have two carts? I think our PR at Costco is about $300 but we are just three.

I suspect if I still shopped at Publix like I used to, food inflation would be closer to 40-50% for me.

I switched to doing all my grocery shopping at Walmart Neighborhood Market and primarily stick to Great Value to keep costs as low as I can.

My rent is up 24% since 2019. Really the only thing I spend less on now than before COVID is gas and car maintenance, since I'm full-time WFH.

My yearly raises since then add up to 12.5%. So, not even close to keeping up with inflation.

20-40% across various categories feels right. Pretty brutal in such a short period of time with only 2-3% salary increases. The good and bad of my situation is that over the preceding several years I'd basically doubled my salary but my wife cut back how much she worked. Then we bought a cheaper house. So we had a few great years with lots of surplus. But now it seems like we've basically fallen backwards to our same original place. Fortunately that's better than being worse off and still very comfortable for us. But still sucks to see so much money disappear for nothing.

Man, I have no idea. My wife does most of the grocery shopping. I'll go with her now and then but really don't pay attention to prices. But I had to pick something up real quick and was shocked that Ruffles were almost $6.00 a bag. I figured they'd be $2-something.

Chipotlemonger said:

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topher06 said:

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Suspect there's been a decent amount of downgrading brands, like buying Kirkland paper towels instead of Bounty at Costco.

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I can vouch for this one personally

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Me and my wife were just talking about this today. Trying to think of what all we can buy in bulk

Consumables (Gas, groceries) - up 25.6%
Utilities (also includes spray foaming house w/ reduced consumption) - up 24.4%
Insurance (Homeowners & Auto) - up 73.6%

Add travel to the list. I'll guess that airline prices are up 30% over a few years ago. I think the "official" number is 25%, but it varies by airline and destination. Not to mention, most airlines now charge extra (or a higher fare) to choose any seat on the plane (not just an "upgraded" seat).

Hotels are also up, both in base price and the ridiculous "taxes and fees" that are charged. Again, it depends on the hotel and destination, but I've seen "taxes and fees" add as much as 50% to the nightly rate (a $200/night hotel room ends up costing $300).

flashplayer said:

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Maybe that is accurate but I doubt anything the government puts out. The irony of it is that all the exclusions you mentioned are most people's largest costs. And those have gone up at least 50% or more on average would be my guess.

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_____________________Gov inflation numbers are fairly accurate based on how Gov measures. Problem with that is how Gov measures. I say that needs to change or at least give us additional numbers based on real-world measures that affect individuals and families in demographic groupings in different geographics. National one -size-fits-all reports are deceptive...and everyone knows it. I'm of the mind that 19.6 applies to few, if any. individuals or families.

If I stopped eating out, it would be a lot less.

Was outraged to discover that I had been manipulated into believing that I was paying the same amount for oat milk as I was for almond milk. Close inspection reveals that the containers differ by 4 ounces. Bull@&$!!!

But seriously, inflation is bad. I can't dwell on the fact that circumstances compelled the rib and I to build a custom home through the most inflationary year in history (don't know if it's true, but it feels true). Otherwise I'll go insane.

Waiting for anyone to post that over the last three years their personal/family inflation meter registers only 19.6-20 percent.

Comparing average per month this year vs 4 years ago

General spending (not bills, not eating out, not groceries, not gas) up 15%

Groceries up 29.8% (3 kids 17 and younger eating more than they used to, plus inflation)

Gas for cars down 1.1% (4 gas cars and an EV now vs 3 gas cars back then)

Eating out up 67.4% (probably the most inflation I've noticed plus kids all eating adult meals and I put school lunches in this category which I may not have 4 years ago)

Water/garbage/sewage bill up 4.6%

Natural gas bill up 39.6%

Electricity bill down 18.9% (added solar panels)

Take home income up 16.5% (it's more than that but changed some savings and tax deductions)

House value up 61%


Not all apples to apples but what I have noticed the most is groceries and eating out.

MyNameIsJeff said:

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My data shows our grocery bills have gone up somewhere around 30%. We have switched to buying store brand at every available opportunity.

I have a good job and a pretty respectable income, in my opinion, but supporting a family of four on just my income feels like it's getting harder and harder every month.

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Same at our house.

Berkshire Hathaway reported earnings with a very big increase in profits from insurance underwriting. I wonder what part of that is from rate increases?

MyNameIsJeff said:

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Yordaddy said:

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I make decent money, but go to the grocery store and am shocked at what my total is each time.

Single income households with kids are definitely struggling.

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Yep.

My data shows our grocery bills have gone up somewhere around 30%. We have switched to buying store brand at every available opportunity.

I have a good job and a pretty respectable income, in my opinion, but supporting a family of four on just my income feels like it's getting harder and harder every month.

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Family of 5 here, wife SAHM and same story.

Every time I turn around a new higher expense pops up 20% more than the year before.

Groceries, insurance, taxes, home/auto repairs. Getting hit from all sides.

Unsustainable.

Government inflation reports are bogus and are not applicable to the typical individual or family. That's because gov reports do not take into account many things mentioned by posters in this thread. Including these things would show that inflation is much higher than the already high 19.6-20 percent reported since Bided took office. Government does not want to give us reality reports. Try as most politicians and bureaucrats my, they are not keeping us in the dark. Americans are waking up to reality.

strbrst777 said:

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Waiting for anyone to post that over the last three years their personal/family inflation meter registers only 19.6-20 percent.

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I'd wager 95+% of people don't have good enough control of their finances to even tell you, if they're being honest.

Even if they do, there are so many other variables. For example, we know our finances and keep the history to tell you numbers, but in 2020 it was just my wife and I. Now we have 2 kids and are in a new house, so completely different expenditures regardless of inflation.

*Not defending that inflation is only 20% over the last 3 years. Just don't think you'll find many people keeping track closely enough to tell you wholistically on way or the other. Will just be a lot of anecdotes and singular budget line items like this thread.