Got Inflation?

The official government inflation rate is right at 3%, but those of us that actually pay attention to the prices we pay, OR, the size of the packages know the inflation rate is much higher. According to American Institute for Economic Research the prices we pay are up some 8 percent! We have seen the price of gas continue to rise and in fact it was only $1.84 per gallon when Obama took office in January 2009. We have seen many food items rise as well, but the government still tells us that inflation is only about 3%. What they don't tell you is that they stopped including food and energy prices into the equation when figuring out the "official" government inflation rate.

Well, I don't know about you, but I use fuel and food EVERY DAY! It has a major impact on my life as I travel about 80 miles per day. My vehicle averages about 30mpg, thank God, but going from $1.84 per gallon a mere 3 years ago to $3.79 per gallon now means that I pay an extra $1.95 per gallon more. To me, this means an extra $5.20 per day, or $26.00 per week. Now this doesn't sound like much, but continue to follow this out...$104 per month (4 weeks) and $1352 per year. And this is only fuel and only one vehicle in my household (my other vehicle is an 8 cylinder pick-up truck). The cost of food has gone up as the delivery trucks use fuel and the power plant uses fuel and the stores use the power coming from the power plant. Get where I'm going? Just the fuel prices trickle down to many sectors of consumer goods.

Inflation is here and it will get worse. Prepare for it.