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Updates about inflation are all over the news. You’ve heard that it’s reached a record-breaking high this year, and it’s not likely to drop anytime soon. But how does this affect you?

Inflation & Your Budget

Prices for consumer items have increased across the board. Naturally, this will have a direct influence on your budget and how to divide up your income every month. If you don’t make any adjustments for these higher prices, you’re likely to run into some financial trouble, like draining your checking account and having no funds for an emergency expense.

If you’re in that stressful situation, you don’t have to panic. You can go to a website like CreditFresh to apply for a line of credit loan in your home state. If your application gets approved, you can request a withdrawal within your limit and potentially use those funds to cover the emergency expense. After that, you can focus on making repayments.

You can avoid this situation entirely by reassessing your budget and preparing for price increases. Take a look at these four essentials that are heavily impacted by inflation right now. These will affect your personal budget.

1. Groceries

Have you noticed that your trips to the grocery store are more expensive lately? You’re not imagining things. According to the Consumer Price Index for Food, grocery store and supermarket food prices have increased by 11.9% between May 2021 to May 2022. That’s a massive surge in the span of a year.

What items have seen the biggest price hikes? Currently, meat, poultry and eggs have seen steep increases in the past year. Meat companies raised their prices to compensate for labor shortages, supply chain disruptions and high fuel costs. The poultry industry raised the prices of poultry and eggs because their supply of hens and turkeys dropped significantly. Millions of these birds became infected with the bird flu and had to be culled for health and safety reasons.

2. Dining Out

Rising food costs are also affecting dine-in restaurants and fast-food joints across the country. Many establishments have raised the prices on their menus to compensate for the inflated supply costs, while others have stealthily included fees and surcharges to your final bill. Any time you dine out, you’ll pay more.

3. Gas

You may have realized that filling up your car’s tank at the gas station costs a small fortune. Gas prices have hit record highs this year, reaching $5 per gallon for multiple states.

If you don’t have a car, this can still be a problem for you. The higher gas prices have caused rideshare services like Uber to increase their prices to compensate. Trips that you order on any rideshare app will be more expensive.

4. Electricity

Your energy bills are also heavily impacted by inflation. According to the Consumer Price Index, electricity costs have risen by 12%, and utility (piped) gas services have risen by 30% in a single year. If you don’t plan ahead for higher bills, you might find yourself falling behind with payments.

Last year’s budget is no match for this year’s inflation. It’s time to assess how much these four essentials will cost you in the upcoming months and adjust your budget. Start now!