Thanks again Biden

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America's aching economy is forcing tough choices. How people are 'barely making it' work.

JESSICA GUYNN, SWAPNA VENUGOPAL RAMASWAMY, ELISABETH BUCHWALD AND TERRY COLLINS, USA TODAYSee more

September 30, 2022, 5:33 PM

 

A dollar doesn't go as far as it used to.

Americans are paying higher prices for everything from groceries to gas. The consumer price index, which measures what consumers spend on goods and services, rose 8.3% in August from a year ago.

With wages lagging surging inflation, household budgets are being stretched thinner than a rubber band. More than one-third of Americans said it was somewhat or very difficult to pay for household expenses, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau survey.

Savings are dwindling and credit card debt is mounting. To get by, people are cutting back on meat for dinner and on nights out. Even kids are going without new shoes or supplies for school.

USA TODAY talked with families from California to Georgia and from Arkansas to Ohio about how they are coping with their new economic reality. These are the faces of inflation.

A lose-lose situation: Many Americans find themselves in a Catch-22 as inflation keeps prices, interest rates high

'Barely making it:' Struggling with rent hikes in Atlanta

 

Sonja Smith, a former Georgia state government employee, was forced out of retirement last year when she could no longer pay her bills.

When Sonja Smith retired from her job as a Georgia state government employee in 2018, she planned to volunteer and work part-time as an insurance agent.

Last year, Smith, 55, was forced out of retirement when she could no longer pay her bills.

“I thought my pension would be enough,” she said, especially since she’d moved out of a market-rate apartment in a nice neighborhood to low-income “tax credit” housing in a not-so-safe part of town.

Smith’s top priority was to stay in the city of Atlanta so her 15-year-old daughter could continue to attend the city charter school.

But thanks to record high inflation, her rent increased from $950 per month in 2019 to $1,113 in 2020. The cost of food, gas and auto insurance also jumped. Her auto insurance went from $200 a month to $300 a month since she was living in a “high crime” area, she says.

Coping with inflation

The USA TODAY Money team wants to hear from you. How has inflation impacted you? What changes have you made to cope?