Posted on 03/14/22
| News Source: WMAR TV
More and more people are feeling the pinch of inflation as the price of gas, food, and many other products continues to go up.
Inflation is up nearly 8 percent which means the purchasing power of the U.S. dollar is down, costing consumers more money to buy the same products they bought a year ago.
People are more and more stressed about making ends meet.
Analysts with the online loan marketplace Lending Tree found half of the state is having at least a moderate to high difficulty in paying their usual household expenses.
From the gas pump to the grocery store, prices are going up. It's straining household budgets and testing people's patience.
Quote Wizard by Lending Tree analyst Nick VinZant said “I think it’s a double edge sword in the sense that this is having a real-life practical effect in that it’s costing me more money and it’s starting to feel like the middle class and people who aren’t doing as well are really starting to get the short end of the stick.”
Many Americans are wondering just how far they can stretch a dollar as inflation hits a 40-year high of 7.5 percent.
“That is a measure of all different kinds of goods, it’s not just looking at one thing and saying well gas is up 7-1/2% so inflation is up 7% as a measure of literally hundreds of different goods and how much they have increased over time and so we’re seeing this really being widespread,” VinZant said.