How much more do you pay every month for food, gas, and rent?
PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — If you've balanced your budget lately, it's probably hundreds of dollars different than it was – and not in a good way.
With inflation at a 40-year high, many Utah families are feeling the pinch, especially with food, gas, and rent.
Take Madelyn Heperi’s story. She and her husband live at an apartment complex in Vineyard, which just raised their rent in October. They shop for food at Winco in Orem, where prices are higher than they’ve been in a while. And they fuel up often since she commutes to her job in Draper.
“I’m our sole provider because my husband had some things going on in his life,” Heperi said. “With my income, I work two jobs, and we rarely make ends meet.”
She added, “It sucks, to say the least.”
Heperi did the math, and she figured they pay about $350 extra every month just for food, gas, and rent.
“I feel for everybody out there that has to deal with the high rent and high gas and high groceries,” she said, “because I’m right there with you.”
Her story tracks with what BYU economics professor Christian vom Lehn is seeing.
“Inflation like this we haven’t seen since about 1980,” said vom Lehn, noting that price increases are impacting the typical Utah family about several hundred dollars a month or more, depending on family size.
Average wages have gone up in Utah, vom Lehn pointed out, but they haven’t kept up with inflation.
“That may compel people to work longer hours. That may compel people to look for new jobs which have higher pay,” he said. “It can lead people to have to cut their spending on things they might like and lead to a redistribution of activity in the economy. It’s certainly a painful stretch.”
Inflation is caused by a number of factors, vom Lehn said, such as pandemic complications, federal stimulus spending, and the war in Ukraine. Some of those are easier to address than others.
“The hope is that in the long run, eventually earnings catch up with the cost of goods and services and the cost of living, and so these things even out,” said vom Lehn. “But certainly in the short run, that puts a crunch on people.”
Heperi has given up her daily Sodalicious indulgence, and she donates plasma twice a week. She and her husband still have dreams, but high prices are taking a high toll.
“I’ve always wanted to have kids,” she said, “but right now that’s not in the cards for us because of how much everything is.”
