'It's rough out here': Americans struggle with rising inflation
US inflation continues to rise, and this month the jump was above forecasts. Here's how some are surviving.
Key points
- US inflation rose to 3.7% over the 12 months to September, up from 3.4% in August.
- High energy prices, including record diesel and rising gasoline costs, are driving up living expenses.
- Americans like Kathryn Vaughn and Punal Bhavsar are taking multiple jobs and changing spending habits to cope.
US inflation rose to 3.7% in the 12 months to September, up from 3.4% in the 12 months to August, according to official figures released on Wednesday. High energy prices have pushed up the cost of living, with diesel at record highs and gasoline also more expensive.
The pressure is being felt by ordinary Americans. Kathryn Vaughn, 46, works three jobs to support her family of four in rural West Tennessee, while Punal Bhavsar, 39, has delayed plans to buy a home.
How families are coping
Vaughn works as a primary school art teacher and as a facilitator at an after-school programme for at-risk youth, where her five-year-old son can join, cutting after-school care costs. She also writes obituaries and resells clothes on ThredUp and Poshmark, saying: "I have done some incredibly unhinged things to survive."
In Utah, Caitlin Green and her husband have switched from ground beef to ground turkey or chicken as the price of beef rose from $2 a pound to $8. Their monthly grocery spending has increased from about $200 to $400.
It's rough out here. The cost of everything is insane. Gas to get to work, my insurance costs have gone up, feeding two children and a husband. It's a lot.
— Kathryn Vaughn
Gas prices and the midterms
Bhavsar said rising goods prices have made saving difficult, and gasoline is his biggest burden. He pays almost $6 per gallon for premium fuel in California, and with midterm elections in November, he may become a single-issue voter, saying gas prices "have got to be under control."
The Gallup Economic Confidence Index stood at -40 in September. A summer survey from the Guardian found 95% of respondents thought the US was in an affordability crisis.
